Centre urges calm as LPG gas bookings surge by 60% amid shortage rumours

NEw new delhi: liquified oil gaseous state (LPG) furnish is a matter of concern mainly because of panic bookings that surged by 59% to nearly 8.9 million, but no dry-outs have been reported from any place so far, an official said, as the government on Saturday issued an order prohibiting a person having piped natural gas (PNG) to keep LPG connections.Evoking the Essential Commodities Act, the government prohibited the supply of domestic LPG to a person having a PNG connection. In case a person has both PNG and LPG facilities, “such persons will be required to immediately surrender their domestic LPG connection,” the order said.Divulging details of fuel supply situation at the inter-ministerial briefing on recent developments in war-torn West Asia, Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG), said: “Regarding LPG supply, it is still a matter of concern for us in view of prevailing geopolitical situation, but no dry-out has been reported so far.”There has been a surge in the number of LPG bookings on account of panic buying. Daily bookings have increased from an average of 55.7 lakh (5.57 million) to 88.8 lakh (8.88 million) yesterday, she said.Sharma appealed to both domestic and commercial LPG customers to switch to piped natural gas (PNG) supplied by city gas distribution (CGD) companies to reduce reliance on LPG.“India imports 60% of the LPG it uses. In the last one decade, the number of domestic LPG (cooking gas) connections crossed 33 crore (330 million) from about 14 crore (140 million), a 136% jump,” she said.She informed that state-run gas marketing major GAIL India on Friday held virtual meetings with CGD companies supplying fuel in major urban areas such as Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore, Lucknow, Kanpur, and Jaipur and advised them to expedite and promote new commercial PNG connections for hotels and restaurants so as to reduce pressure on LPG supplies.Earlier this week, the government ensured natural gas supply to priority sectors at 100% to domestic PNG and CNG customers, without any cuts. Supplies to commercial and industrial consumers, however, are regulated at 80%.“Commercial cylinders are at the disposal of state governments so that they can prioritise consumers. Distributions have started in about 29 states and union territories (UTs), and consumers are getting them uninterrupted,” she said.“It is the responsibility of all states and UTs to monitor the supply situation, and the district administration plays a major role in this. Some chief ministers, including those of Haryana and Goa, have held meetings with their senior officials to ensure the equitable distribution of gas cylinders. Similarly, senior officials of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have conducted meetings with line departments and oil marketing companies (OMCs) to maintain a robust supply situation,” she added.On hoarding, Sharma said the state government’s role is also important in enforcement through surprise inspections and raids to control hoarding and black marketing.Meanwhile, joint teams of state officials and OMC executives have conducted raids in Maharashtra and Rajasthan. Surprise inspections have been conducted in about 1,400 locations in Uttar Pradesh. About 20 FIRs have been filed, and several people have been arrested. Prosecutions have been launched against 19 people, Sharma said.“Similar actions have been taken in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha and Karnataka. Besides, OMCs have conducted 1,300 surprise inspections at various LPG distributorships and retail outlets on Friday,” she added.The government’s effort, Sharma said, is to safeguard fuel supply to domestic consumers.