Mumbai: CNG and piped gas rates in Mumbai are likely to rise after November 1 when the Central government increases domestic natural gas prices. Sources say CNG price in Mumbai metropolitan region may rise by an average Rs 4.50 per kg, which, if implemented, could amount to the biggest hike in recent years. The last big hike was in September 2013 when the price went up by Rs 3 per kg. The current price of CNG at retail outlets is Rs 38.95 and may shoot up to Rs 43.45 per kg, sources said. What is alarming is the hike has the potential to shake up the city’s public transport scene as it will directly affect fares of autorickshaws, taxis, fleet cabs and buses. Auto and taxi fares were already hiked by Rs 2 recently and if there is a huge CNG hike, you can expect another round of hikes in April next year. This could hit 20 lakh commuters. BEST has announced plans to hike fares by Re 1 to Rs 2 from April 2015, irrespective of the proposed hike. Piped cooking gas price is likely to rise by Rs 2.50 per scm (standard cubic meter). The current PNG rate in Mumbai is Rs 24.09 and as high as Rs 24.28 in Mira-Bhayander. If there is a hike now, it will hit over six lakh households that have piped gas in the metropolitan region. Though MGL officials were unavailable for comment, industry sources said CNG and piped gas price hike would be due to “the government decision to increase domestic natural gas prices from $4.20 per MMBTU to $5.05 per MMBTU with effect from November 1.” “This will impact MGL’s input (gas) costs significantly, which will pass the burden to consumers by hiking CNG and PNG rates in Mumbai region from next month,” sources said. A final decision, though, will be taken on Friday. A part of the likely hike could be on account of the increase in gas cost and the balance on account of applicable taxes and duties, sources said. Last December, MGL had planned a huge hike, but rolled it back after a city-based autorickshaw union moved court. A CNG pump owner said, “The use of CNG in and around Mumbai reduces about 1.2 million kgs of pollutants from the atmosphere everyday. Even after this rise, CNG would provide an attractive 32% discount in fuel cost over diesel and 60% discount over petrol.”

