Calcutta, Aug. 21: The arrival of CNG in Calcutta now looks a distinct possibility.

Senior government officials will tomorrow hold talks with Great Eastern Energy Corporation Ltd, which is conducting coal bed methane exploration in the Ranigunj coalfields. Coal bed methane is CNG (compressed natural gas) in crude form.

Commerce and industries secretary Sabyasachi Sen and his transport counterpart will go to Asansol for the talks.

Great Eastern Energy has been given licence for exploration of coal bed methane across 210 sq km in the Damodar valley. The company will also distribute the gas when it starts commercial production, which should be by April 2007.

“Tomorrow we will discuss the infrastructure required to bring the gas here,” said an official.

The government has repeatedly drawn flak from the high court for its inability to clean up Calcutta’s air.

“We need CNG despera- tely. Not only clean, compared with other fuels it is cost- effective, too,” transport secretary Sumantra Chowdhury said.

The government is also in talks with Mukesh Ambani to source CNG from the Krishna-Godavari basin.