New Delhi: Amid concerns over shortages of commercial cooking gas in parts of the city, govt has introduced a temporary policy for the distribution of commercial LPG cylinders to regulate distribution and ensure that essential services such as hospitals, railways and airports continued to receive 100% of required supplies.Under the arrangement, only 20% of the average daily commercial LPG consumption in Delhi will be made available for regulated distribution. This translates to around 1,800 cylinders per day, out of the nearly 9,000 commercial cylinders typically sold daily, the policy stated.A priority-based distribution system focusing on eight categories was formulated to ensure that critical institutions did not face disruption in operations. Educational institutions, hospitals, railways and airports were placed in the top priority category. Govt departments and public sector institutions with in-house canteens were kept at level 2, while restaurants and eateries, which account for the largest share of commercial LPG use, will receive the biggest portion of the available supply with a cap of 762 cylinders.Educational institutions, hospitals, railways and airports can receive up to 200 cylinders, and govt and PSU canteens 236. Hotels and guesthouses can get 72 cylinders, dairies and bakeries 200, caterers 162, industrial units 18, and sports facilities and others 150 cylinders daily.Other sectors being covered include sweet shops and banquet halls. Smaller industrial users such as dry-cleaning units, packaging and pharmaceutical units are placed in a lower priority category.Govt clarified that no supply would be made in 5kg cylinders as their distribution was not undertaken through LPG distributors.The policy also includes measures to prevent hoarding and ensure fair distribution. Bookings will be processed through the regular online systems and supplies will be made on a first-in-first-out basis if immediate delivery is not possible, an official said.Delhi govt constituted 70 enforcement teams to monitor the supply and distribution of cooking gas amid concerns of panic buying. The teams, comprising personnel from Delhi Police, the weights and measures department, and the food and civil supplies department, are maintaining a strict vigil at gas stations, stock yards, distribution points and other places to prevent hoarding and black-marketing.To strengthen coordination between different agencies, govt also set up a common mobile communication channel linking officials from Delhi govt, police and other departments. Joint inspection teams will conduct regular inspections and enforcement operations to prevent diversion of LPG cylinders, hoarding, illegal storage, under-weighing and black-marketing.“The violations of the policy could invite action under laws such as Essential Commodities Act and the LPG supply and distribution regulations,” an official said. Commercial institutions have been advised to temporarily explore alternative cooking arrangements, he added. Authorities said the policy, framed in accordance with directions from the Union petroleum and natural gas ministry, would remain in force for now and might be reviewed depending on how the supply-and-demand situation evolved in the coming weeks.An official claimed that supply chains of LPG, petrol and diesel remained stable. “At least five verbal complaints of hoarding were received in the past 24 hours, and action was taken. A sudden surge in demand triggered by panic buying began creating pressure in some areas despite adequate stock levels,” he said.
