Mumbai, July 15 -- Four months after thousands of households, housing societies and restaurants across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) rushed to apply for piped natural gas (PNG) connections amid fears of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) shortages due to the Iran war, many applicants claim they are still waiting, with little communication from Mahanagar Gas Ltd (MGL) on when they can expect service. Several MGL applicants HT spoke to allege that their complaints are going unanswered, inspections are delayed, and timelines keep shifting. The common problem has been a lack of clarity from the gas distributor after applications were submitted. "We had applied in 2024, well before the LPG crisis, but we are still waiting," said Vinod Gidwani, manager of Sea Line Cooperative Housing Society, a seven-storey building in Union Park, Khar. "I have written to MGL five times and visited its office three times. There has been no response and no clarity. Now, they have a convenient reply that there are a lot of applications and they can't process ours." Mario Fishery, a resident of Chapel Road in Bandra, echoed similar concerns. "There is a serious communication gap. Despite repeated complaints and demands that I want a PNG connection, nobody has even come to inspect the issue. The building next to ours has a connection, but ours is still pending," he said. For Hrithik Jain, who lives in Astral Mansion in Mahalaxmi, the issue is different. His building received a PNG connection two years ago, but he and a few other residents did not opt for one then. "Now, all I need is a connection to my flat, which is hardly an hour's work, but I have been told it will take 90 days. I have called MGL seven times, emailed three times and posted twice on X, but there has been no response," he said. The hospitality industry has voiced similar frustrations. Vijay Shetty, president of the Association of Hotels and Restaurants (AHAR), said around 2,000 of its 8,000 member establishments applied for PNG connections after the central government prioritised residential supply of LPG by slashing commercial and industrial allocations in March. "Barely 10% have received them. MGL has collected deposits from many applicants, but there has been little response to their concerns. We have had to pursue such basic issues repeatedly; it is not as if MGL is doing charity," he said. "Now that the LPG crisis has thinned, many establishments have become discouraged from switching to PNG. With MGL raising the price of PNG, it is almost at par with the LPG. Hence, there is no incentive except for its certainty and safety," Shetty added. The rush for PNG connections began in early March after the Iran war disrupted global energy supply chains and triggered fears of LPG shortages. The surge in demand also led to a sharp increase in applications for road-trenching permissions required to lay underground pipelines. According to a senior BMC official, whose department grants these permissions, the deadline for trenching work, which was originally set to expire at the end of June, has been extended until September. However, applicants said the extension has done little to ease delays, with many claiming they have received neither connections nor clear timelines. The BMC official said the issue stems from a manpower crunch at MGL. "Due to the increased demand, they lack the resources to handle so many applications at once, causing delays," the official said. According to MGL, it has received 93,500 PNG applications from Mumbai, Thane and adjoining areas since March, while providing over 102,000 connections during the same period. In normal circumstances, PNG connections are provided within two to three months. But over the past four months, the company has reduced the average turnaround time to between seven and 25 days, the spokesperson claimed. Regarding the complaints raised by applicants, the spokesperson said, "Every grievance is thoroughly investigated and responded in a timely manner."...