Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: The petroleum ministry on Friday increased the allocation of commercial LPG to states by 20% to meet additional demand from industrial units such as steel, automobile, textile and chemicals.With this increase, the total allocation of commercial LPG has now reached 70% of pre-conflict levels.
In a letter to chief secretaries of states and UTs, petroleum secretary Neeraj Mittal said only those industrial units that have registered with oil marketing companies, declaring the end use of gas cylinders, and have also signed up for the piped gas network will be eligible for the additional quota of LPG. He added that if LPG is used by certain industrial units for special purposes that cannot be substituted by natural gas, such requirements would stand waived.“Additional allocation shall be given to industries, with priority to steel, automobile, textile, dye, chemicals and plastics, which are labour-intensive and support other essential sectors. Among these, priority shall be given to process industries or those requiring LPG for specialised heating purposes that cannot be substituted by natural gas,” Mittal said in his letter.After briefly halting the supply of commercial LPG cylinders when the conflict started, the Centre allocated 20% of the average monthly requirement and left it to states and UTs to decide the priority. It later added an additional quota of up to 10% for states that allowed reforms and ease of doing business for city gas distribution companies to expand the piped gas network, and subsequently, allocated 20% more for distribution to the hospitality sector.Mittal said several states had carried out full or partial reforms to be eligible for the additional quota of up to 10% and urged others to avail of it at the earliest.
