CNG prices go up by Rs 2.90 in Capital

CNG prices in Delhi were hiked by Rs 2.90 on Friday. Immediately after the hike was announced by Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL), auto unions have threatened to increase auto-rickshaw and taxi fares.

CNG prices in Delhi were hiked by Rs 2.90 on Friday. Immediately after the hike was announced by Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL), auto unions have threatened to increase auto-rickshaw and taxi fares.

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This is the second hike in CNG prices this year. CNG will now cost Rs 38.35 per kg.

Apart from public transport, auto-rickshaws and taxis, about 3.5 lakh vehicles run on CNG in the national Capital.

For Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad, CNG prices have been hiked by Rs 3.30 per kg. The fuel will now retail at Rs 43.10 per kg in the NCR towns. The hike will be effective from Friday midnight.

IGL, a joint venture between GAIL India, Bharat Petroleum and Delhi government, attributed the hike to an increase in input costs due to a rising dollar and, therefore, a rise in the import costs.

IGL maintained that the increase will have a minor impact on the per kilometer running cost of vehicles in Delhi but the auto unions claim that it will increase overall costs.

"For autos, the increase would be 8 paisa per km, for taxis it would be14 paisa per km and in case of buses, the increase would be 83 paisa per km," said a spokesperson of IGL.

"We will go on a strike if the hike will not be rolled back. We will be forced to increase the fares. The government has been increasing CNG prices every two months and this is not acceptable at all," said Rajendra Soni, president of Bharat Autorickshaw Chaalak Sangh.