CNG price to be hiked to Rs 86 per kg in Mumbai from Saturday, piped gas to Rs 52 per unit

Mumbai: Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) will be costlier across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) from Saturday, with Mahanagar Gas Ltd (MGL) hiking the retail price by Rs 2 per kg, while the rate of piped cooking gas will also increase by 50 paise per unit.The fresh revision takes the CNG rate from Rs 84 per kg to Rs 86 per kg in Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai and other parts of the region, impacting a large section of daily commuters as autorickshaws, taxis and buses continue to rely heavily on the fuel. The price of piped gas will be revised to Rs 52 per unit, which will impact more than 31 lakh households across MMR.Mumbai Rickshawmen’s Union leader Thampy Kurien said the increase in gas prices has led to fresh calculations as per the fare hike formula. “The formula, which takes into account the rising fuel rates, has shown that there is a need for a fare hike of around Rs 1.12 per km on base fare, which is rounded off to a rupee fare hike,” he said on Friday. The fare hike proposal will be sent by the transport department to MMRTA, which takes a final call on any auto-taxi fare hike. Taxi unions have also demanded a minimum Rs 2-3 fare hike on base fare due to rising costs of CNG over the past one year.An MGL official said this was the second hike in CNG rates this month, with the previous being a Rs 2 hike on May 13. There was also a rupee hike in CNG in April. “Due to geopolitical disruptions affecting the global energy supply chain, coupled with increased dependence on expensive gas sources, rising crude oil prices, and rupee depreciation, overall gas procurement costs have risen significantly. This has resulted in the two rupee CNG hike and a 50 paise hike in piped natural gas rate across MMR,” an official said.The official further said: “Despite the price adjustment, CNG continues to offer significant savings compared to alternative fuels. At the revised price, CNG provides approximately 45% savings compared to petrol and 12% savings compared to diesel, based on current fuel prices in Mumbai.”Over the past year, the CNG vehicle population in the Mumbai region has risen by around two lakh vehicles — a 20% jump — taking the total to over 12 lakh. Vehicle registrations indicate the scale of dependence on CNG in public transport and last-mile connectivity. The CNG fleet in MMR includes about 4.7 lakh auto-rickshaws and over 1.6 lakh taxis, along with more than five lakh private cars spread across Mumbai, Thane, Mira-Bhayander, Navi Mumbai and Raigad.On the mass transport front, MGL supplies CNG to 1,969 buses operated by BEST, TMT, MSRTC and NMMT. It also fuels 51,311 private buses and tempos running on CNG, underlining the fuel’s central role in keeping the region’s transport system moving.