NATIONAL
CNG price hike of 50p/kg to have no impact on autorickshaw drivers
The price of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) has been hiked by 50 paise per kilogram in Gurugram, Rewari, Karnal, Delhi, Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad.
Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL), which supplies CNG in the Delhi-NCR region, said that the new rate will be effective from Sunday 6am onwards.
The hike was necessary to offset the impact on its input costs as a result of the recent appreciation of the US dollar vis-à-vis the Indian rupee, said an IGL official familiar with the matter.
The price of CNG being supplied by IGL in Gurugram and Rewari would be ₹58.95 per kg, while in Karnal it would be ₹55.95 per kg. The consumer price would be ₹47.10 per kg in Delhi and ₹53.50 per kg in Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad.
Explaining the reasons behind the revision of CNG prices, an official spokesperson of IGL said that this marginal revision was necessitated due to the recent appreciation of the US dollar vis-à-vis the Indian rupee and the increase in operational costs since the last price revision.
The base price of natural gas being procured by the IGL from all sources is dollar-linked, thereby making the entire input price dependent on the value
of the dollar.
However, this increase is expected to have a marginal impact on the running costs of vehicles per km. For auto-rickshaws, for instance, the increase would translate to just over one paisa per km, while for taxis, it would translate into two paise per km, IGL official said.
With the price revision, CNG would still offer over 52% savings towards the running costs when compared to petrol-driven vehicles at the current level of prices. On the other hand, when compared to diesel-driven vehicles, the economics in favour of CNG at the revised price would be over 27%.
A large number of auto-rickshaws and cabs in Gurugram have switched to CNG in the last two years.