The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has made a big and important change regarding the supply of domestic cooking gas (LPG). Under the new rules, now domestic LPG cylinders will not be provided to those houses which already have piped natural gas (PNG) connection.
These people will not get LPG
According to the order issued by the government, if a consumer has both PNG and LPG connections, he will have to surrender his LPG connection immediately. This decision has been implemented through a notification issued on Saturday and it is effective with immediate effect. The Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Regulation of Supply and Distribution) Order, 2000 has been amended in a gazette notification issued by the Ministry. As per the new provisions, no person having a PNG connection will be able to take a new domestic LPG connection. Consumers having both PNG and LPG will not be able to get refill of LPG cylinder. It will be mandatory for such consumers to surrender LPG connection. Government oil companies (IOCL, BPCL, HPCL) and their distributors will not be able to provide LPG to such households.
‘One house-one fuel’ policy implemented
The objective of the government is clear that the limited supply of LPG should be managed in a better way and cylinders should reach those needy families who do not have an option like PNG. PNG is mainly available in urban areas, where cheap and environment-friendly gas is available through pipelines. Whereas in rural and small towns LPG is still the main fuel. This change will reduce the demand for LPG in PNG areas, which will increase the availability of subsidized cylinders for rural consumers.
This step is also being considered in the direction of ‘one house-one fuel’ policy. Earlier also the government had tried to ban dual connections, but now this rule has been clearly and strictly implemented. Consumers have been advised that if they have both the connections, they should immediately surrender the connections by visiting the nearest LPG distributor or the company’s portal. There will be no penalty for surrender, but legal action may be taken for breaking the rules.
Input: IANS