Thousands of households in Lucknow’s high-rise residential complexes may soon have to switch from LPG cylinders to piped natural gas (PNG), with the Centre moving towards making PNG adoption mandatory in areas where pipeline infrastructure is already available.
The proposed move signals a significant change in the government’s approach to expanding PNG usage in major cities. Instead of relying solely on voluntary adoption, the Centre intends to push households towards PNG wherever the distribution network is available, with the larger objective of reducing dependence on LPG and maximising the utilisation of existing gas infrastructure. “These operations require trained technicians to ensure compliance with safety standards. The Centre’s latest push could accelerate this transition, but Lucknow’s experience highlights the gap between policy targets and ground-level execution. Goyal directed that priority be given to hospitals, police lines, paramilitary establishments, educational institutions, government guest houses, district magistrate complexes and government residential colonies.
Of the more than 200 high-rise complexes identified, only 15 have so far been converted, indicating the scale of the task ahead. With approximately 40,000 potential connections to be delivered by March 2027, the company will need to substantially increase its execution capacity over the coming months,” he said. The government of India issued the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Regulation of Supply and Distribution) Amendment Order, 2026 in two main stages to manage households holding both domestic LPG and Piped Natural Gas (PNG) connections.
RK Behra, director (commercial), Green Gas Limited, said that PNG installations in multi-storey buildings involve extensive coordinated work, including laying pipelines in common areas, installing vertical risers, connecting individual flats, fitting meters and regulators, and conducting pressure and leakage tests before commissioning. Executive director and state head IOC Sanjay Bhandari said that every directive of the Centre will be followed and it’s up to Green Gas to complete the work at the earliest and then serve notices to the residents.
