PIPE DREAM

“Next to Morbi would be Rajkot where operations would begin by March and simultaneously other towns like Nadiyad, Kheda and Anand also,” said DJ Pandian, MD of GSPCL. GSPCL has already begun gas distribution to the industrial units in Himatnagar of north Gujarat. According to Pandian, currently as many as 78 units are catered to in Himatnagar.

In addition to GSPCL, Gujarat Gas, which has pioneered gas distribution in the state, has over 2000 km pipeline network covering industrial belt called Golden Corridor. The company has laid network in Surat, Bharuch, Ankleshwar and Jhagadia, providing piped gas to more than 1.7 lakh domestic households and also catering to industrial units.

According to Mehul Thanawala, general manager of Gujarat Gas, apart from domestic households, the company has also connected around 2500 commercial establishments like restaurants and industrial units of pharmaceutical, chemical and textiles. Moreover, Gujarat Gas, a largest private player in distribution, is close to complete pipeline to Vapi industrial area where operation would begin in a few months, sources from the company said.

On CNG front also, Gujarat Gas has set up 20 online (connected with pipeline) stations in Surat, Bharuch and Ankleshwar and around six new stations would be added in 2007, according to the sources. It may be recalled that Gujarat Gas was one of the first companies in India, which had set up its first CNG station as early as 1993 in Surat, when CNG was unheard of in the country.

Adani Energy has already started providing gas through pipeline close to 5000 households in Ahmedabad. Apart from domestic households, around 100 restaurants have also been connected with the pipeline network and more connections are being given in the areas like Bodakdev, Paldi, Prahladnagar, Satellite and Ghatlodia, which are on the western side of the city. The company is targeting to reach to 10,000 households in the city by March.

According to officials, the company has also created network covering GIDC (Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation) areas like Vatva, Vapi, Naroda and Narol, all these areas are otherwise infamous for high level of pollution.

According to sources, Adani group is also into negotiations with Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC), which is providing piped gas in Vadodara. The group is likely to take over the distribution network from the civic body. Adanis have also got No-Objection Certificate (NOC) to create distribution network in other cities like Jaipur, Udaipur, Noida, Faridabad, Khurja and Lucknow.

“We are in the process of laying pipelines in these cities. We expect to start operations in some of those cities within six months,” said a company official.

Apart from being convenient, piped gas is also cheaper than cylinder LPG, which is hugely subsidised by the Central Government. “On an average, piped gas is 10 to 15 per cent cheaper than subsidised LGP. Therefore, it makes sense for the customers to go for it,” said senior official of a distributing company.

There are environmental advantages also. By converting to use of commercial LPG instead of diesel, a large number of industrial units in GIDC Vatwa and Narol in Ahmedabad, Ankleshwar and Jhagadia in Bharuch, Surat and Valsad, release of noxious fumes has been curtailed drastically. Not only in piped gas for domestic and industrial purpose, the state is also leading on the CNG front. Under the air action plan for Ahmedabad, Adani group has set up 37 CNG stations in the city and eight more would become operational by March 2007.