Cong concern on CNG conveyed to Minister

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, AUG. 15.

Expressing concern over the sluggish manner in which the entire CNG issue had been handled by the NDA-led Government at the Centre, particularly the Union Petroleum Ministry, the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) today warned of a chaotic situation on the transport front in the days to come.

The CLP, which met the Union Petroleum Minister, Mr. Ram Naik, at this residence to convey the feelings of lakhs of commuters and CNG vehicle owners, also expressed anguish over ``the lack of concern shown'' by the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, and his failure to intervene despite the Delhi Chief Minister, Ms. Sheila Dikshit, writing to him on two occasions. The CLP also submitted a memorandum, signed by MLAs, to Mr. Naik highlighting the concern and resentment brewing among the various sections on the CNG issue. The meeting with Mr. Naik lasted about 30 minutes.

The Congress(I) MLAs were led by the Finance Minister, Mr. Mahinder Singh Saathi, and the DPCC(I) president, Mr. Subhash Chopra, in the absence of Ms. Dikshit, who is still recovering from her recent bypass surgery. The Transport Minister, Mr. Parvez Hashmi, along with other Cabinet colleagues explained the entire situation to Mr. Naik. The move comes in the wake of the CNG case which is scheduled to come up for hearing in the Supreme Court on August 17.

Inspired by the developments on the CNG front, which had seen the Centre coming under increasing attack for its mishandling, the MLAs were clearly in a belligerent mood. They asked the Minister to present the real facts before the Supreme Court so that it is able to arrive at a decision keeping in consideration all the factors. They highlighted the agony undergone by the public and the hardship being faced by commuters and transporters alike.

Describing the situation on Delhi roads as ``grave and disturbing'', Mr. Chopra said long queues at CNG filling stations and chaotic conditions for dispensing the fuel had become a permanent feature. The bus owners and auto-rickshaw drivers stand for 10 to 18 hours every day to procure CNG. There is a dead mileage of around 12,000 km per day for the 1,200 CNG buses of the DTC alone. The situation could take a turn for the worse.

Terming as misleading and baseless the campaign launched by BJP leaders that Ms. Dikshit or Mr. Hashmi, had not taken up the issue with Mr. Naik in a serious manner, some MLAs pointed out that apart from meeting him personally, both had written a number of letters. Ms. Dikshit had even written to Mr. Vajpayee on April 3 and August 3 highlighting the deteriorating situation and the hardships faced by commuters and transporters, but a response from the Prime Minister was still awaited.

They pointed out to Mr. Naik that he had written several months ago to Delhi Government that Indraprastha Gas Limited should import booster compressors at the earliest. But this has not happened. ``We have often stressed the need to have alternate clean fuels. We are happy that you are also now propagating the need to have other cleaner fuels. We hope you will reiterate emphatically this in front of the Apex Court.''

Prominent among the MLAs who presented their point of view were Mr. Mahabal Mishra, Mr. Ajay Maken, Kanwar Karan Singh, Mr. Kamal Singh Yadav, Mr. Mahinder Singh Yadav, Mr. Nasib Singh, Mr. Ashok Singh, Ms.Anjali Rai and Ms. Kiran Walia.

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