SMEs face gas supply problems

Kamlesh Udani,Executive Director (Technical & Production) JB Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals,said: “A lot of companies in Ankleshwar and Panolli are in the expansion mode. Many of them are facing problems of gas cuts. This has led to a situation where companies are facing 30 to 50 per cent shortage on a daily basis.”

He added: “Earlier,the focus sectors were power,fertiliser and city gas which includes SMEs. Now the SMEs have been left out due to the change in policy. The gas,which was available with the SMEs,is now being diverted to other sectors.”

This has now affected the competitiveness of the SMEs. The pricing of natural gas is another important factor,which has affected the SMEs too.

The volatility in the international market has pushed up the gas prices as India is now importing natural gas.

“The industry needs a unified gas pricing policy to understand the need of SMEs,which is the backbone of the Indian economy,” said Shaleen Sharma,Convener — CII Gujarat Energy Panel,and MD,Gujarat Gas Company Ltd.

Adani to allot 40,000 gas connections
Ghatlodia,Vejalpur and Khanpur have been covered with piped gas,the Adani Energy Ltd has said.

This year,the company has a target of allotting 40,000 new connections to the domestic users and expand the network to Shahibaug and Sabarmati.

The company has around 50 CNG (compressed natural gas) stations,and is planning another 15 on the highways.

“We are planning CNG stations in Bawla town,Asarva,Vatva and Vadodara. The number of cars is expected to rise and we expect higher demand for CNG,” said a senior AEL official.