Charottar Gas
Good news for non-profit Gujarat-based gas retailers Charottar Gas and the Vadodara Municipal Corporation.
PETROWATCH learns the Petroleum & Natural Gas Regulatory Board will shortly tell both Charottar and VMC they will be exempted from the strict obligation to incorporate as limited liability companies under the Companies Act, 1956, removing the last obstacle to their ability to operate legally. “If we strictly apply the (PNGRB) Act, both of them will have to wind up,” says a Board source.
“This makes no sense as both are doing good work. They are not in the gas business to make money, but to provide a service.
” VMC officials made a strong pitch to the Board on October 29 for authorisation. “We have asked Charottar to send in some more documents,” adds a source.
Charottar Gas, operating in Gujarat’s Anand district, and VMC, are two existing retail gas suppliers in India not covered by the Companies Act, 1956. Set up in 1972, VMC’s retail gas operations are the oldest in the country.