India, April 2 -- The civic administration has introduced sweeping relaxations to fast-track the installation of piped natural gas (PNG) across Mumbai, facilitating the transition from LPG to piped cooking gas.

The urgency arises from a crippling shortage of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) used for cooking, due to the war in West Asia. PNG supply has so far not been disrupted for domestic consumers, with the state government mandating that residents make the switch from LPG to PNG in areas where piped gas infrastructure is already available, within three months.

In view of this, a circular was issued by the BMC's chief engineer (roads and traffic) Girish Nikam, on March 30, stating that where Mahanagar Gas Limited (MGL) is the PNG provide...