HYDERABAD: Amidst rising concerns triggered by geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, Irrigation and Civil Supplies Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy on Friday assured people in the state of uninterrupted LPG supply to domestic consumers. He directed officials to ensure zero shortages for essential services such as hospitals, schools, orphanages, old-age homes and other critical institutions.
Uttam chaired a high-level meeting with the newly constituted State Level Energy Supply Monitoring Committee at the state Secretariat to review the LPG supply situation in the state. Chief Secretary K Ramakrishna Rao, Civil Supplies Commissioner Stephen Ravindra, Irrigation Secretary E Sridhar, GHMC Commissioner RV Karnan and representatives of oil companies were among those who attended the meeting.
During the review, officials informed the minister that an OTP-based delivery verification system was being implemented to ensure that gas cylinders reach the intended consumers and are not diverted to the black market. Authorities said minor adjustments may be made in commercial sector supplies to safeguard domestic consumption. However, they clarified that overall supply stability would enable balanced distribution.
Officials also decided to strictly implement national guidelines on LPG bookings, fixing the minimum refill booking gap at 25 days for urban consumers and 45 days for rural consumers.
The civil supplies minister directed officials to strengthen field-level monitoring and launch awareness drives among distributors. He also asked district collectors and police officials to maintain vigilant patrolling, conduct surprise inspections at dealerships and initiate swift legal action against violators.
Uttam urged citizens not to resort to panic booking based on unverified social media rumours, emphasising that the supply chain remains stable and fresh consignments were arriving regularly.
As of March 12, the state had an LPG stock of around 10,611 metric tonnes — equivalent to nearly 6.97 lakh cylinders. Officials said supplies through the GAIL pipeline network remain continuous and uninterrupted.
State, dist committee formed to monitor LPG supply
Hyderabad: The Telangana government has constituted the State Level Energy Supply Monitoring Committee (SLESMC) to monitor LPG supply, stock position, transportation and distribution in the state. The committee will be headed by the Chief Secretary, with the Commissioner of Civil Supplies as convener.
The government has also formed district-level committees. These committees were constituted following suggestions from the Centre. The committee will continuously review LPG supply in coordination with oil marketing companies and monitor the movement and distribution of LPG cylinders to ensure uninterrupted supply to consumers.
It will also coordinate with the police department to maintain law and order at LPG bottling plants and storage facilities by deploying officers of RDO and DSP rank. In addition, the committee will facilitate police escort for LPG transport vehicles wherever necessary to ensure safe and timely transportation. It will take legal action to prevent diversion or unauthorised use of LPG cylinders.