BHUBANESWAR: Amid protests by opposition parties on the streets over the alleged shortage of cooking gas, the central government on Friday reviewed the availability and distribution of LPG across the country in a high-level virtual meeting with state government officials.
The meeting was chaired by the secretaries of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and the Department of Consumer Affairs, with principal secretaries of Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare departments from various states. Principal secretary of the Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare department Sanjay Kumar Singh and senior officials attended the meeting from Odisha. The meeting focused on ensuring smooth supply and transparent distribution of LPG to consumers.
Officials said the union secretaries stressed the need to strictly monitor booking and delivery through the OTP-based system to prevent irregularities and curb black marketing. According to officials, enforcement squads have been deployed at district levels to keep a close watch on illegal hoarding and diversion of LPG cylinders. Strict action has been directed against those involved in black marketing.
During the discussion, it was also informed that in case of emergency, commercial gas supply would be limited to 20 per cent of its earlier consumption so that domestic consumers can be given priority. Authorities also said due to unusually high booking requests, the server handling LPG bookings has slowed down. Steps are currently underway to enhance server capacity to avoid disruptions. In rural areas, the delivery cycle for LPG cylinders has been extended to 45 days due to supply pressure.
Singh appealed to the public not to panic over LPG availability. He said the state has adequate stocks to care of the need of domestic consumers and enforcement squads are keeping strict vigil on hoarding and black marketing of cooking gas.