642 FIRs Registered, 155 Arrested In LPG Hoarding And Black Marketing Crackdown: Govt

New Delhi, March 24: Enforcement actions continue across states to curb hoarding and black marketing of LPG, and so far, about 642 FIRs have been registered and around 155 people arrested, the government said on Tuesday.

Raids and seizures intensify

As part of the enforcement actions, about 3,400 raids were conducted, and around 1,000 cylinders were seized in the past 24 hours.

Major actions were reported in Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Telangana. PSU Oil Marketing Companies conducted more than 1,500 surprise inspections at retail outlets and LPG distributorships on Monday, according to the inter-ministerial briefing on recent developments in West Asia.

Fuel supply remains stable, says govt

The Petroleum Ministry said that all retail outlets are operating normally across the country.

“Panic buying was reported in some areas due to some rumours, resulting in unusually high sales and crowding at retail outlets. The government has advised the public not to believe rumours and reiterated that adequate stocks of petrol and diesel are available across the country,” according to the ministry.

Priority sectors continue to receive supply

Moreover, priority sectors continue to receive protected supplies, including 100 per cent supply to domestic PNG and CNG transport, while supplies to industrial and commercial consumers connected to the grid are being maintained at around 80 per cent of their average consumption.

City Gas Distribution (CGD) entities have been advised to prioritise PNG connections for commercial establishments such as hotels, restaurants, and canteens.

“Over 7,500 domestic and commercial PNG connections were issued or activated yesterday (Monday) in the top 110 geographical areas,” said the ministry.

LPG allocation and distribution measures

Meanwhile, 24 States/UTs have issued orders to allocate non-domestic LPG in line with the guidelines issued by the government.

For the rest of the States/UTs, PSU Oil Marketing Companies are releasing commercial LPG cylinders.

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A total of around 18,784 MT LPG has been uplifted since March 14 by commercial entities in the States/UTs, informed the ministry.

An additional allocation of 48,000 KL of kerosene has been provided to States and UTs, which have been requested to identify district-level distribution points.

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