CNG price hiked by Rs 2 in Mumbai, other cities; election bond-Delhi spared

CNG price in Mumbai as well as several other cities in the country has been hiked by Rs 2 per kg but users in poll-bound Delhi have been spared for the time being, according to city gas firms.

Indraprastha Gas Ltd, the firm that retails CNG to automobiles and pipes natural gas to household kitchens for cooking in the national capital and adjoining cities, over the weekend raised CNG price by Rs 2 per kg.

Prices were hiked in Noida, Greater Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram and other cities but Delhi, which goes to polls in a few weeks from now, was spared.

With elections out of the way, Mahanagar Gas Ltd (MGL) - the city gas retailer in Mumbai, hiked CNG prices in Mumbai and adjoining areas by Rs 2 per kg, according to MGL website.

MGL and other city gas retailers, like Adani Total Gas Ltd, had kept retail prices unchanged for the past two months despite a 20 per cent increase in input cost. And no sooner did assembly elections in Maharashtra conclude, MGL raised CNG prices Rs 2 per kg to Rs 77 in Mumbai with effect from November 22.

Other city gas retailers too have hiked CNG prices.

While CNG rates in Delhi remain unchanged at Rs 75.09 per kg, prices have gone up by Rs 2 per kg to Rs 81.70 in Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad, and to Rs 82.12 per kg in Gurugram with effect from November 23, according to IGL website.

When Uttar Pradesh was going to polls in 2022, IGL had revised prices in Delhi but kept rates unchanged for cities in the state.

Industry sources said CNG prices in Delhi may be revised after assembly elections due in January /February.

MGL and IGL did not give reasons for the increase but sources said the hike was warranted because the firms now have to buy expensive gas following a two successive rounds of cut in supplies of regulated or APM gas.

Natural gas, pumped out of the ground and seabed, is turned into CNG for running automobiles. But supplies from domestic fields of ONGC, called APM gas, have not kept pace with CNG demand.

Supplies have been cut twice since mid-September, necessitating city gas retailers to buy costlier non-APM gas or expensive imported liquefied natural gas (LNG).

CNG rates differ from state to state depending upon the incidence of local taxes such as VAT which varies.