The plan had been in the pipeline and had been stuck owing to lack of enough government land. Now, with private lands opening up, MNGL officials are working towards getting building and other permissions for the eight new pumps that will take CNG stations in the city from 17 to 25.

“Documentations, permissions and NOCs are taking time. We have set a target of eight CNG stations this fiscal,’’ said an MNGL official.

The MNGL had earlier advertised for private lands for CNG stations. Of the eight planned this fiscal, several will be on private land. These are mainly in Kothrud, Hadapsar, Bavdhan, Nagar road and Hinjewadi areas.

The MNGL also plans to convert all existing CNG stations to online stations, in which the gas is supplied through a pipeline. The CNG stations are at present supplied by mobile cascades (cylinders filled and transported from the mother station). Work is on for the pipeline and the stations will all be converted to online soon, MNGL officials said.

In meetings convened by the district collector earlier, the need for 24-hour functioning of CNG stations was stressed, and MNGL officials maintain that all the pumps now operate day and night.

They added that of the eight new stations, two will serve the bus depots at Kothrud and Hadapsar.

Meanwhile, there has been an increase in price of CNG in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad this month as in other places. “It is presently Rs 42 for PMC and Rs 41.50 for PCMC areas,’’ said the officials who said they had increased prices for the first time after February.

The city has been grappling with CNG shortage and nine petrol pumps that supply CNG as well had even threatened a strike to get more gas. District collector Vikas Deshmukh had earlier announced a single-window system to expedite pending proposals for CNG outlets.

The 40 outlets planned before the end of the next fiscal will be on private / government lands as well as existing retail petrol outlets. MNGL recently proposed CNG pumps on private land as government land was not easily available.