More than 40 new piped gas connections to restaurants, over 20 industries on board

“Due to the ongoing war situation in the Western Asia region, there has been a significant impact on the supply of various fuels, particularly LPG. However, PNG supply continues to remain stable and uninterrupted, in line with directives issued by the central government,” says a senior officer. He added that MNGL has undertaken several proactive initiatives to reach, and support the customers in gas pipeline-accessible areas. These include one-to-one surveys, distribution of informational leaflets, and organising customer registration camps.

The officer told The Indian Express, “We have activated more than 40 new connections to restaurants in the last few weeks. These are in areas where MNGL had ready infrastructure and we could take gas into the restaurant kitchens. Whenever connectivity is available, we have prioritised giving connections.” MNGL is targeting 100-125 restaurant connections where there was no piped gas connectivity earlier,” says the officer.

He adds that permissions, including to dig roads, to lay pipelines are being readily granted and “we have the full support of different arms of the government”. Creating infrastructure for PNG requires route finalisation, safety approvals and compliance, procurement of material and coordinated construction work, among others. The MNGL officer says that, till now, MNGL has created 2,500 km of network in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad. “Creating infrastructure is a continuous process. This process is being accelerated. The next three months will see the maximum laying work,” he says.

According to Saili Jahagirdar, Pune Chapter head of the National Restaurant Association of India, some restaurants got relief after MNGL provided connectivity from existing pipelines. “We would like MNGL to expedite the process as the restaurant industry is reeling from the LPG shortage,” she adds.

Teams from MNGL responded to the imminent shortage of LPG by setting up camp in MIDC in Chakan, Talegaon and Bhosari, among others, at the outset. On Wednesday, there was a meeting between them and the top officers of MIDC. Most of the MIDC pockets are covered by the pipeline, others are in the process of getting covered. “In association with the MIDC Regional Office, MNGL organised a two-day facilitation camp at the MIDC Chinchwad office on April 1 and 2, 2026, to streamline the PNG connection process for industrial customers. The MIDC Regional Office supported this initiative by promoting the camp through mailers and newspaper communications,” said the officer.

The camp witnessed participation from more than 50 visitors, out of which around 35 industrial customers registered for new PNG connections. MNGL has since initiated subsequent processes including site surveys for technical feasibility, issuance of commercial offers, execution of agreements, and obtaining necessary permissions.
“Instead of the industries coming to us, we reached out to them. Daily, we are interacting with MIDC officers. Whoever has a query for connection, we are providing it. In the last month, we have on-boarded more than 20 industries and commissioned more than 10 industries. Wherever the pipelines are present, we are able to give them the connection on an immediate basis,” says another senior official.

He adds that MNGL is proactively pursuing all industry associations and trying to “connect more and more industries”. The majority of the industries here are ancillary units, who supply to auto and other bigger industries. “They were facing an acute shortage of LPG,” says a senior official.

He adds that a number of small industrial units were not aware of the paperwork and other formalities required. “We are trying to help them, sorting out their issues related to the fuel shortage,” says a senior official. “It’s a continuous process of laying and developing the infrastructure. We are on the job,” he adds.

Dilip Gupta, vice-president of the Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce, Industry & Agriculture (MACCIA), says that the LPG shortage due to the war has been a serious concern. “We believe that it is crucial to support the industry. We have had a lot of correspondence with MNGL and requested them to concentrate on areas where there are industries in large numbers, such as Chakan, Bhosari and Ranjangaon. MNGL has done good work by coming forward and telling industries that they were ready to supply PNG. A lot of small industries had submitted applications. In two days, almost 150 people had applied. We are looking towards the future, sure that whatever steps are taken by the government will help bring the situation under control,” said Gupta.

PNG in domestic households

More than eight lakh households have been provided with PNG infrastructure till their kitchen points and around 50 per cent are actually consuming gas. MNGL is offering a scheme, valid till April 30, encouraging households to switch to PNG by waiving up to Rs 1,550 on the connections. Of this, there is a Rs 500 waiver on the first PNG bill and zero application charges. Colourful artworks announced “no booking, no waiting, no tension”.

An MNGL officer adds that, when they build the infrastructure, it is at a mass scale and can cater to all the locality, even if a building might have only a certain percentage of homeowners adopting PNG. Thereafter, MNGL begins campaigns, including door-to-door visits to persuade people to adopt PNG connections. “In Pune, rental tenants preferred cylinders that they could transfer to other cities when they moved. Owners, too, were not keen. Now, owners can also come forward and opt for PNG so that tenants can get benefits. We want to encourage maximum adoption of PNG,” he says.