As on March 7, CNG cost Rs 120 per kg in Nagpur, while diesel Rs 92.51/litre and petrol Rs 109.75/litre.
At Rs120 per kg, the present rate of CNG — once touted to be an economical fuel substitute for conventional automobile fuel — is perhaps the highest in the country.
Besides price hike, there is also a shortage of eco-friendly fuel at two fuel stations of Rawmatt Industries — the only agency which runs CNG stations in the city (Yashodhara Nagar and Wadi).
An official from Rawmatt attributed the hike in CNG prices due to an increase in the price of LNG in the international market. The official said a Haryana company has won the tender of supplying CNG to Nagpur. “Within a couple of days, per kg price of CNG will come down between Rs70 and Rs80,” the official claimed.
Sources said Rawmatt transports LNG from Dahej in Gujarat. After transporting LNG, Rawmatt converts it into CNG. However, the global crisis of LNG has contributed to its shortage and rise in cost.
The shortage has forced CNG’s only supplier to curtail its selling. Sources said the agency denied CNG refilling to three Aapli Bus operators, which resulted in the Nagpur Municipal Corporation curtailing operations of 70 CNG-run buses in the city.
The hike in CNG price comes amid an unrelenting surge in the retail selling price of petrol and diesel.
Sources said on Gadkari’s insistence, the NMC has reportedly converted 70 of its diesel-run standard buses into CNG as against a plan to convert all the 237 standard buses fleet.
On Monday, Rawmatt refused to give CNG to Aapli Buses, confirmed a senior official from NMC’s transport department.
Subsequently, the NMC allowed Red bus operators to stop the operation of CNG-run Aapli Buses. However, the development forced the NMC to reduce the number of buses on road. The commuters also faced inconvenience on various routes, the officer admitted.
Anand Mod, a four-wheeler owner, cursed himself for converting his diesel-run vehicle into CNG. Apart from irregular supply, there is no control over pricing. “CNG is available at much lower prices in other cities, but in Nagpur it is costlier than petrol,” he said.
Many autorickshaw drivers, who have replaced their petrol-fuelled three-wheelers with CNG, are also aggrieved by the ascending CNG prices. “CNG prices have been consistently going up and there seems to be no relief from that,” said a miffed autorickshaw driver, Jamshed Sheikh.
“I replaced my petrol autorickshaw to opt for CNG in 2020 following frequent hikes in petrol prices. But now I feel, I have committed a blunder as whenever the CNG price increases, our earnings are affected,” he rued.