The Indraprastha Gas Limited, provider of CNG in the capital and its surrounding areas, has increased the price by over 25 per cent. The new rates will become effective from midnight on Wednesday.
According to an IGL spokesperson, the price of CNG in the capital would be Rs 27.50 per kg. The last revision of CNG price had been carried out on May 15, when it was increased by 20 paise per kg and was fixed at Rs 21.90 per kg. In neighbouring Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad, the CNG would be available at Rs 30.60 per kg. As per the earlier revision, the price of CNG in these areas was Rs 23.7 per kg in Noida and Greater Noida, while in Ghaziabad it was Rs 25.7 per kg.
The IGL has attributed the need for another increase in a month to increase in the administered price mechanism (APM) for CNG, which went up from Rs 3,200 per thousand standard cubic metres (mscm) to Rs 6,818 per mscm in May.
Director (commercial) of IGL, Manmohan Singh, however, claimed that the increase would not impact much on the per kilometre price of plying of vehicles like the autorickshaws, cars, taxis and buses, which are used in public transport. Mr Singh said that for autorickshaws, the per kilometre (km) increase would only be 16 paise, while for cars and taxis it will be 27 paise per km. For buses, it will be Rs 1.6 per km. In the overall analysis, it would come down to three paise per passenger per km, said Mr Singh.
The official further claimed that the CNG will be 59 per cent cheaper than petrol and 28 per cent cheaper than diesel in the capital.
This difference was 67 per cent and 42 per cent respectively, following the last revision. Compared to other metropolitan cities, CNG price was least in Delhi, said Mr Singh.
The increase in the CNG prices is likely to have an impact on the fares for public transport in the capital and also the National Capital Region areas.
The government has already indicated that the increase in the CNG prices will be factored in while deciding the new fare structure.