New Delhi, March 21 (IANS) The government on Saturday said that raids continue to be carried out in many of the states and Union Territories (UTs) to check the hoardings and black marketing of LPG.
More than 3,500 raids have been conducted and around 1,400 cylinders have been seized in Uttar Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra, etc.
“All the States/UTs governments are requested to conduct regular raids so that black marketing and hoardings can be arrested,” said Petroleum Ministry.
PSU oil marketing companies (OMCs) officials have conducted surprise inspections at more than 2,000 retail outlets and LPG distributorships across the country to ensure smooth supplies and to check any hoardings/black marketing cases, it added.
Despite this war situation, the government has given highest priority to domestic LPG and PNG, along with high priority to hospitals and educational institutions.
“The government has already implemented several rationalisation measures on both the supply and demand side, including enhancing refinery production, increasing the booking interval from 21 to 25 days in urban areas and up to 45 days in rural areas and prioritising sectors for supply,” it informed.
Alternate fuel options like kerosene and coal have been offered to ease pressure on LPG demand. Additional allocation of 48,000 KL of kerosene, over and above the regular allocation, has been made to all the states/UTs.
States/UTs have been requested to identify locations in districts for distribution of kerosene.
Notably, Ministry of Coal has already issued order to Coal India and Singareni Coallieries to allot higher quantities to States for distributing coal to small, medium and other consumers.
States have been advised to facilitate the new PNG connections for both domestic and commercial consumers. A proposal for 10 per cent additional allocation of commercial LPG has been made to the States facilitating and expediting the process.
“The government is taking all necessary steps to ensure uninterrupted availability and delivery of LPG cylinders to households; citizens are advised to rely only on official sources and avoid rumours. Citizens are requested to avoid panic bookings, use digital modes for LPG bookings, and refrain from visiting distributorships; home delivery of cylinders is being ensured,” said the official statement.
--IANS
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