Union minister for petroleum and natural gas Dharmendra Pradhan has instructed officials to scale up piped supply of natural gas in and around Indore with help of Aavantika Gas Limited (AGL).
The minister held discussions with officials of AGL, district administration and Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) to double the number of domestic connections of piped supply of natural gas in Indore by 2021. “We aim to increase network of piped natural gas (PNG) in Indore. In the year 2015, there were only 5,000 connections, which have now gone up to over 55,000,” said Pradhan, while speaking to the media.
The minister also held discussions with IMC officials to take stock of its bio-CNG projects and the waste management model of Indore. “We are working on the concept of waste to wealth to convert Indore’s waste management model into an economic activity,” he said, adding, “The Union petroleum ministry is giving a guaranteed purchase of compressed biogas at a price of Rs 46 per kilogram.” He said that the ministry is also working on producing biogas out of farming waste like parali in rural areas.
Pradhan said that Indore can be a role model in generating bio-CNG and mentioned that Indore’s bio-methanation model can be a role model for the country. “It can be a successful trade, which can generate more employment,” he said.
Commenting on the soaring fuel prices, the minister said that the recent elections in the US and internal issues in some countries have led to surge in fuel prices. “The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) has decided to increase crude oil production by 500,000 barrels per day, and we can expect a decline in the prices soon,”Pradhan said.
The Union minister held discussions with the district administration and IMC officials and instructed them to check about the possibility of having a system for collection of used cooking oil in Indore and produce biofuel from it. He informed that the experiment was successful in cities such as Nagpur, and the same can be replicated in Indore.
IMC will make a documentary on its solid waste management model for spreading awareness on sustainable practices. An instruction in this regard was issued by the Union minister.
