Gujarat Gas celebrates Jay Madhok termination
Gujarat Gas and sister company Gujarat State Petronet are preparing to pounce on Kutch (East) in Gujarat and Ludhiana in Punjab following the PNGRB's decision to strip Jay Madhok of its licences for these two areas.
On July 15 the PNGRB issued terse orders terminating both licences granted to Jay Madhok in 2015 accusing the company of failing to submit financial closure documents within 180 days, failing to submit Gas Supply Agreements and failing to connect 35,500 homes and lay 13,350 inch-km of pipeline in Kutch East within a year. In Ludhiana Jay Madhok stands accused of failing to connect 74,500 homes and lay 7800 inch-km of pipeline.
"The authorisation of the entity (Jay Madhok) for laying, building, operating or expanding the CGD network is hereby cancelled and the performance bond is directed to be encashed," say both PNGRB orders. "The Board reserves the right to re-award the authorisation in a transparent manner and the entity shall have no right whatsoever against the Board for seeking any compensation or remedy on this account." Gujarat Gas when contacted said it is eager to win the Kutch (East) licence, as it already holds Kutch (West).
Gujarat Petronet similarly wants to take Ludhiana, as it already holds Amritsar and Bhatinda in Punjab. When contacted a senior Jay Madhok source said, "We are studying the PNGRB orders and our legal options."