NEW DELHI: As part of efforts to take natural gas to all parts of the country, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has evolved a plan to put 200 cities on the gas distribution and compressed natural gas (CNG) network.

Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Murli Deora said: "The Ministry is planning to spread its network of natural gas to the Northeast region, and work is on at a fast pace to introduce CNG for public transport as well as in the city distribution network in Agartala, Guwahati and other parts of the region.

"It is expected that two crore households will reap the benefits of piped natural gas (PNG) in the next few years, for which a roadmap had been drawn up. This would include the running of a large number of vehicles, including public transport, on CNG."

Mr. Deora termed natural gas the "fuel of the future," which was now becoming "fuel of the present."

It was fast emerging as a key input in achieving balanced and inclusive economic growth. With the relative advantages of PNG and CNG over other fuels, city gas projects would play a major role in meeting the energy needs of urban and semi-urban areas.

Official projections of commercial energy mix for the next 25 years indicated that oil and gas would continue to hold key positions, accounting for about 41 per cent of the energy requirement in 2031-32. Securing adequate oil and gas stocks posed serious challenges to the Government and the oil marketing companies as the country's oil import dependency increases from the current level of over 80 per cent.

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