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3 years after paying for PNG connections, Lucknow’s Ashiana sector J residents still await the supply
Residents of Ashiana sector J are bearing the brunt of lack of coordination between the Green Gas Limited (GGL) and the Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC). Three
Residents of Ashiana sector J are bearing the brunt of lack of coordination between the Green Gas Limited (GGL) and the Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC). Three years after depositing money for getting piped natural gas connections, they are running from pillar to post but the PNG supply seems like a distant dream.
“Almost all houses of sector J had deposited the Rs 12,400 needed to get a PNG connection back in 2016. At that time, officials of GGL had promised us that we would get the supply within 15 days,” said Ravi Srivastava, a resident of the area.
“However, the Green Gas Limited has not even laid down the pipelines,” he said.
Srivastava said that whenever the residents went to ask GGL officials why the pipelines had still not been laid, they started making excuses. “They start blaming the Lucknow Municipal Corporation for the delay in the digging work,” he alleged.
Another resident Satya Mishra said, “The GGL has been sitting on our money for the past three years. Who will pay interest on the money we gave them? If they are unwilling to give us the promised gas connection, they must refund our money with interest.”
He said it was unfortunate that the residents were suffering as a result of poor coordination between the GGL and the LMC. “What do we have to do with the spat between two government departments? For the sake of citizens, they must sort out their differences,” said Mishra.
Shedding more light on the issue, an executive engineer of LMC’s zone 8, Amarnath, said, “The GGL will have to apply for permission (for digging). We will give them the permission immediately. There is a proper channel through which a permission is sought. If they do not follow the procedure, how can we give them the permission to dig up roads?”
When contacted, Samit Pandey, a GGL official connected to the project, said, “I will be able to comment on this issue only after going through the files again.”
Meanwhile, the residents said it was “mind-boggling” why the GGL had been unable to take the necessary permission from the LMC for the past three years.
