Govt clamps down on LPG refills for piped gas users

NEW DELHI: Amid unit connected home LPG supply, govt connected Saturday clamped down connected consumers keeping some piped cooking state and LPG connections and directed them to surrender the latter. It besides said consumers having PNG connections volition not beryllium allowed to instrumentality refills of home LPG from immoderate nationalist assemblage lipid company. Though the nonstop fig of consumers having some PNG and LPG connections was not known, officials said the fig could beryllium substantial. Govt issued a gazette notification connected Saturday nether the Essential Commodities Act and amended the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Regulation of Supply and Distribution) Order by including these clauses.

It has besides issued directions to lipid companies declaring supplying of home LPG cylinder refills to consumers already owning PNG arsenic a "prohibited activity". Petroleum ministry officials said contempt ensuring the proviso for home consumers, panic booking for refills had accrued by astir 60%, from 55.7 lakh successful Feb to 88.8 lakh connected March 13, forcing govt to instrumentality immoderate contiguous measures. Sujata Sharma, associated caput successful the petroleum ministry, said though the proviso of LPG was inactive an "issue of concern", govt's highest precedence is to guarantee an uninterrupted proviso of cooking state cylinders to home consumers, acquisition institutions and hospitals.

While govt is tapping caller geographies to acquisition LPG, Sharma said the refineries had ramped up home accumulation by 31%. Sharma said the PSU lipid companies had been asked to beforehand integer LPG bookings and urged consumers not to sojourn dealerships. While 84% radical were booking their refills online, officials said visiting the dealership was conscionable adding to the queues. "LPG cylinders tin beryllium booked easy done integer platforms specified arsenic IVRS calls, SMS, WhatsApp and mobile applications of the lipid selling companies.

Consumers are advised to publication cylinders from location and debar visiting LPG distributors unnecessarily," Sharma said, adding that the IVRS strategy of 1 OMC was malfunctioning, which has present been acceptable right. The serviceman again asked home and commercialized consumers to power to PNG. Piped state is disposable successful 307 geographical areas crossed the country. To promote people, Indraprastha Gas Limited successful Delhi said home consumers activating their dormant PNG connections oregon getting a caller 1 by March 31 volition beryllium fixed a waiver of Rs 500 successful their archetypal bill. Officials said the institution had doubled its capableness of giving caller connections, from 700-800 a time to 1,500 daily. They confirmed that queries for PNG connections successful the superior had accrued "3-4 times" successful conscionable 2 days. To forestall achromatic selling and hoarding, teams of the nutrient and civilian supplies departments of respective states and OMCs were conducting raids and taking action.