New Delhi (Gurpreet Singh): In a decisive move to counter the ongoing nationwide LPG crisis triggered by the West Asia conflict, the Government of India has announced a major acceleration of the Piped Natural Gas (PNG) network. During a high-level roundtable review in New Delhi on Sunday, March 29, 2026, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) proposed the addition of 50 lakh new PNG connections to reduce the country’s heavy reliance on imported cooking gas cylinders. Union Ministers Hardeep Singh Puri, Manohar Lal, and Pralhad Joshi led the deliberations, emphasizing that PNG offers a more stable, affordable, and domestically resilient alternative to the volatile international LPG market.
A central focus of the meeting was the removal of administrative bottlenecks that have historically slowed urban gas infrastructure. Stakeholders identified delays in municipal permissions and high Right-of-Way (RoW) charges as primary hurdles. To resolve this, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) confirmed a broad consensus among states and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) to adopt single-window, time-bound clearance systems and rationalized restoration fees. Minister Manohar Lal called for a “mission-mode” implementation, urging cities to integrate gas infrastructure directly into urban planning and prioritize last-mile connectivity for residential clusters.
The government is also pushing for a structured transition in public institutions, with Minister Pralhad Joshi advising states to prioritize shifting schools and colleges to PNG networks first. Minister Hardeep Singh Puri encouraged ULBs to aggressively promote adoption in zones where the pipeline infrastructure is already laid but underutilized. As the West Asia crisis continues to impact global energy supply chains, this strategic shift toward PNG is being viewed as a critical long-term safeguard for India’s energy security, ensuring that essential household and institutional services remain uninterrupted by external geopolitical shocks.
