Piped Natural Gas Mandatory for Temples Offering Annadanam

Vijayawada: Civil supplies minister Nadendla Manohar on Friday announced that Piped Natural Gas connections will be made mandatory for all major temples in Andhra Pradesh where annadanam is being conducted.

This is part of the government’s initiatives to expand the use of clean and affordable fuel across the state. The minister, who reviewed the PNG expansion work with senior officials in the secretariat and gas company representatives, said the chief minister had directed that every major temple in the state be brought under PNG.

However, he said some technical and infrastructure issues delayed the implementation of PNG in temples such as Kanaka Durga temple and Srikalahasteeswara temple. These will be resolved in coordination with the Foundations Department.

He directed gas companies to expedite connection works and assured them of government support for alternative arrangements where there is land shortage.

The minister said the government was keen on gradually switching consumers from LPG cylinders to PNG systems and asked the five PNG companies operating in the state to accelerate the expansion in cities and towns. He promised faster approvals for laying gas pipelines and establishing PNG filling stations.

He said special awareness campaigns and district-level promotional yatras would be launched to educate people on the benefits of PNG, including security, uninterrupted supply and reduction in cooking fuel expenditure.

Manohar also emphasized that PNG expansion is linked to job creation.

He said youth from ITIs, polytechnics and other skill institutions will be trained in PNG technical operations through the state skills development agency. Each region will identify 100 young people every 15 days for free boarding, accommodation and paid weekly training programs.

Women’s self-help groups will contribute to spreading awareness of the use of PNG through the SERP and MEPMA networks. Gas companies were asked to coordinate with DWCRA groups and provide incentives for community-level campaigns.

Manohar also said the government has prepared simplified norms for tenants using PNG connections and PNG consumers will also get an annual subsidy of Rs 2,400 under the Deepam-2 scheme.