CNG mess

FOR a clean fuel, CNG is causing a lot of trouble. Not only is it not clear when exactly the price rise was applicable, but it was also not clear by how much. Only the pump owners seem to have kept their heads, by charging their own prices on Thursday and Friday, instead of that announced by the government. Their association has also demanded a judge to calculate the new price, even though it seems a straightforward enough matter in view of the increase in the price of CNG, which the government has made because of the increase in world oil prices, to which CNG prices are tied. Consumers have been hardest hit, because they have not known what to expect at the pumps. The CNG revolution has seen the conversion of many vehicles, and the opening of a large number of pumps, often in combination with the traditional pumps. So far, the government has been encouraging this conversion, and this year has seen the first taxation measures taken against it. The confusion about the extent of the increase has been the result of the owners’ obduracy, and refusal to be realistic. There is no need to bring in a judge; the owners’ should be satisfied with the official calculation, and adopt it as their own.