Noida: Nearly 86,000 households across G B Nagar and Ghaziabad could get access to piped natural gas (PNG) as Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL) plans to lay around 490km of medium-density polyethylene (MDPE) pipeline in the two districts in 2026-27. The proposed expansion is almost three times the 180km of pipeline laid across the districts in the previous financial year, signalling a significant step-up in the company’s infrastructure rollout.G B Nagar will account for around 190km of the proposed network, with the potential to connect 48,000 households, while Ghaziabad is expected to get the remaining 300km, which could extend PNG connectivity to another 38,000 homes.The expansion comes amid persistent delays in securing permissions for pipeline laying across residential areas and locations falling under multiple land-owning agencies. A recent TOI report highlighted how administrative clearances and coordination between different authorities were holding up the rollout of PNG infrastructure in Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad.Seeking to accelerate the expansion, IGL has strengthened its financial provisions, contractor mobilisation, manpower deployment and material availability, a company official said. It is also engaging with govt authorities, developers, builders and resident welfare associations (RWAs) to facilitate pipeline laying and household connections.In G B Nagar, IGL has identified Sarfabad village in Sector 73, Barola village in Sector 49, Jalpura, Chipiyana, Chapraula and Amnabad in Greater Noida, and Salarpur, Hajipur, Hoshiyarpur and Chijjarsi in Noida for network expansion.These locations have an estimated potential of around 25,000 household connections and would require nearly 100km of additional pipeline. However, the company is awaiting permissions from the respective land-owning authorities to extend the network into some of these areas.Other locations being considered for phased expansion, subject to technical feasibility and statutory clearances, include Sector MU-II, Roza Yakubpur, RR Colony in Jewar and Sector Theta-II. Together with Sarfabad and Barola, these areas form part of a broader expansion plan with an estimated potential of around 30,000 household connections.In Ghaziabad, the proposed network will cover Raj Nagar Extension, Govindpuram, Loni, Rajendra Nagar, Siddharth Vihar, Hapur, Modinagar, Vijay Nagar, Dasna, Muradnagar, Morta, Karehra and Morti villages, among other locations. The identified areas have an estimated potential of around 20,000 connections under the phased expansion programme.The proposed pipeline rollout will depend on technical feasibility and the receipt of statutory permissions and no-objection certificates (NOCs) from the concerned agencies. IGL said it was actively engaging with the authorities to secure the necessary clearances.Responding to concerns over approval-related delays, Noida Authority CEO Krishna Karunesh said the authority had no expansion-related permissions pending with it.“Our role in the expansion of PNG connections is very limited. We grant permissions as and when IGL approaches us for them. The only concern we have been facing is that roads and land patches remain dug up for long periods, and excavated areas continue to erode. We also have to coordinate with and take care of the concerns of other departments,” he said.IGL, however, has flagged pending permissions in certain residential clusters. This highlights the coordination gap involved in executing projects across multiple jurisdictions.Beyond expanding the main pipeline network, IGL is also looking to convert households in areas where pipelines are already available into active PNG consumers. The company said it had provided around 9.65 lakh gas connections across the two districts.It has also called for simplified or blanket permissions for laying short stretches of MDPE pipeline, particularly the five- to 10-metre sections needed to connect individual households to the existing network. According to the company, streamlining approvals for such last-mile connections could reduce procedural delays and help bring more homes onto PNG.
