New Delhi, Mar 5 (IANS): Minister for Petroleum and Natural Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday dedicated to the nation as many as 201 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) stations across 17 states and India’s first small-scale LNG unit at Vijaipur in Madhya Pradesh as part of the Modi government’s push towards a green economy.

These stations will promote the usage of CNG in the transport sector and household kitchens as a greener alternative to conventional fuels and make it available in newer areas. The dedication of the stations was done through video conferencing at a function here attended by senior ministry officials and top executives of public sector natural gas giant GAIL.

The 201 CNG stations have been set up by 15 City Gas Distribution (CGD) entities of the GAIL out of which 53 stations belong to GAIL Gas Limited, 50 to Indraprastha Gas Limited, 43 to GAIL and 20 to Mahanagar Gas Limited, according to an official statement.

Of the rest, four belong to Avantika Gas Limited, two to Bengal Gas Company Limited, three to Central UP Gas Limited, one to Goa Natural Gas Pvt. Limited, three to Green Gas Limited, one to Haridwar Natural Gas Limited, two to Purba Bharati Gas Limited, one to Rajasthan State Gas Pvt. Limited, one to Tripura Natural Gas Company Limited and one to Vadodara Gas Limited.

After the completion of ongoing CGD development in GAs awarded under the 12th CGD bidding round of Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board, almost entire India’s population and geographical area will have access to Natural Gas. The total number of CNG stations across the country has gone up to more than 6,200 while the number of domestic Piped Natural Gas (PNG) connections stands at around 1.21 crore. GAIL group companies account for 40 per cent CNG stations and 64 per cent PNG connections in the country, the statement said.

In accordance with the continuous innovation undertaken in the natural gas value chain, GAIL has set up India’s first small-scale LNG (SSLNG) unit at its Vijaipur LPG plant. This SSLNG technology has the potential to play a crucial role in connecting the isolated sources and consumers which are yet to be connected to the Natural Gas Pipeline Network, the statement added.