No end to Megha-Bhagyanagar CNG battle

Vol 26, PW 23 (02 Nov 23) People & Policy
 

Megha Engineering's fight with Bhagyanagar Gas over a boundary dispute caused by inaccurate PNGRB maps has landed in the Supreme Court.

On October 5 (2023), the Supreme Court accepted Megha's petition and is expected to hold the first hearing in December (2023). At stake is a CNG station at Kanuru village in the Vijayawada district of Andhra Pradesh, which Megha set up but which Bhagyanagar claims.

"Megha's case is strong," says a source. "They were awarded the area with Kanuru village; Bhagyanagar's map also included Kanuru village, but Megha was the first to set up a CNG station there."

He adds the friction is mainly because of the PNGRB and overlapping areas leading to disputes. "Had the PNGRB taken proper measures when preparing the maps, these disputes could have been avoided," we hear.

Megha appealed to the Supreme Court because it was unhappy with a 132-page judgement by the Appellate Tribunal of Electricity (APTEL) on July 19 (2023) directing the PNGRB to mediate between both parties to "arrive at a fair and reasonable settlement regarding the Kanuru CNG station." On February 18 (2020), the PNGRB ordered Megha to transfer ownership of the Kanuru CNG station to Bhagyanagar Gas, a ruling that APTEL dismissed.

APTEL ruled that Megha must "cease from operating" but could retain ownership of the land used to build the CNG station and all facilities there. Megha received authorisation from the PNGRB for the Krishna district on September 14 (2015), and the PNRB map included Kanuru village in its area.

But Kanuru also showed up on a map that Bhagyanagar received for its Vijayawada district area, authorised on July 28 (2009). When challenging the PNGRB's February 2020 order, Megha insisted it had not intruded on Bhagyanagar's area and had established the CNG station in line with the PNGRB map.

A separate dispute between Torrent Gas and Haryana City Gas over Bhiwadi in Rajasthan also stems from mistakes in PNGRB maps.