Mumbai auto drivers to storm BKC office of Mahanagar Gas over CNG price hike

Autos queue outside a CNG station of Mahanagar Gas, at Anik Depot. File pic

Auto drivers in the city have planned to storm the BKC office of Mahanagar Gas, demanding reduction in the CNG charges, in May. Unions said the "unprecedented" price hike in the rates of compressed natural gas has broken the backbone of the auto industry.

"Being a public transport, the government has made it compulsory to operate autos only on CNG fuel, which we have done with all autos. The government has also allowed and encouraged private vehicles to operate on CNG, which has led to an increase in the user base of CNG. Given the huge demand, the government has been forced to import the gas in addition to the local production, which has led to an increase in the price," said Mumbai auto drivers' union leader Shashank Sharad Rao.

"The Maharashtra government is a 10 per cent stakeholder in Mahanagar Gas Limited (MGL) and we have written letters to the both, demanding local production of CNG made available for a cheaper rate for auto drivers. Moreover, as autos are a public transport, CNG should be diverted to us on priority. Once this is done, the prices of CNG for our category will automatically come down. We, as first stakeholders and public transport, should be offered CNG at the production cost," Rao added.

"This will also be in larger public interest because the fares of autos will remain in the lower bracket, as the CNG price rise is eventually passed onto the passengers," he pointed out. "To highlight all these issues, we will be taking out a huge protest rally of auto drivers along with all our autos to the Bandra Kurla Complex, outside the Mahanagar Gas office, on May 17," he added.

The CNG price has been raised several times in the past due to a hike in import costs. The fuel has been imported to meet the shortfall in domestic gas allocation to cater to the increasing requirement of CNG and domestic PNG segments.