Denied NOC for gas filling facility, pump owner says Cantt board violating SC order
Denied NOC for gas filling facility, pump owner says Cantt board violating SC order
The Pune Cantonment Board (PCB) is not making matters easy for petrol pump owners wanting to start a CNG filling facility. It refused to give a petrol pump owner at Poolgate in Camp a no-objection certificate (NOC) without citing any reason.
|
Need more CNG stations: Autos lined up at filling station near the RTO. Pic/Jignesh Mistry |
This, when the Supreme Court in 2000 had directed all taxis, autos and buses in metropolitan cities to run on compressed natural gas (CNG). Other courts also followed suit and passed similar orders along with directing oil companies to have CNG outlets at their gas stations in metropolitan cities.
Ali Daruwalla (40), who owns a Hindustan Petroleum (HP) petrol pump in Poolgate, said despite having all the necessary permissions, the PCB refused him an NOC and also issued a demolition notice to his CNG facility. This he claimed directly violated orders of both the Supreme Court as well as the Bombay High Court.
"There are only three CNG filling stations in the city. Two are in Kondhwa and one is in Hinjewadi. Had this petrol pump been commissioned, auto drivers would not have had to wait for hours outside CNG facilities to get their vehicles refuelled. They also have to refuse fares because of this," said Daruwalla.u00a0
He further claims that there was also a similar order in 2002 by the Bombay High Court that directed oil companies to set up CNG gas filling stations in Mumbai and the city.
There are about 45,000 autorickshaws in the city, of which 4,000 are run on CNG and 2,000 run on liquefied petroleum gas.