Several gas distribution companies have announced cash incentives to encourage LPG users to shift to piped natural gas (PNG) wherever available to ease the pressure on LPG, the government said on Monday.
Indraprastha Gas Ltd and GAIL Gas Ltd are offering free gas worth ₹500 to consumers, while Mahanagar Gas Limited has offered to waive the ₹500 registration charge for domestic consumers and the security deposit ranging from ₹100,000 to ₹500,000 for commercial consumers. Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd has waived the security deposit for all commercial connections.
Sujata Sharma, joint secretary (marketing & oil refinery) in the ministry of petroleum and natural gas, made the announcements while addressing an inter-ministerial briefing on the fallout of the West Asia conflict.
She urged consumers to switch to PNG by contacting the helplines of city gas distribution companies. “Raids are also being conducted to prevent hoarding and black marketing of LPG,” she said.
Sharma said oil marketing companies had activated their own teams and surprise inspections were carried out at nearly 1,100 locations, including retail outlets and LPG distributors, to prevent irregularities.
She said that the sale of commercial LPG cylinders, which had been curtailed earlier, had been partially restored, and the states and Union Territories had been directed to prioritise their distribution.
To ease the pressure on cooking gas supply, the shipping and ports ministry has fast-tracked the documentation of the LPG carrier Shivalik, which reached Gujarat’s Mundra port on Monday after crossing the Strait of Hormuz following talks between Iran and India late last week.
The Jawaharlal Nehru Port Authority (JNPA) at Navi Mumbai has provided temporary transhipment storage for containers bound for West Asia and granted 100 per cent rebate on ground rent and dwell time charges, special secretary in the shipping and ports ministry Rajesh Sinha said.
He said around 80 per cent rebate had been given on reefer container plug-in charges — levied to cover electricity and maintenance costs — for up to 15 days for containers originating at the JNPA.
According to Sinha, there is currently no congestion at any major port, and export-bound containers at the JNPA have reduced from about 5,600 to around 3,900.
He said major ports across the country were closely monitoring vessel movements and cargo operations, coordinating with customs and other stakeholders to facilitate cargo operations. Ports are also providing safe anchorage for loaded vessels bound for the Gulf that are currently unable to transit.
An inter-ministerial group has been formed under the Directorate General of Shipping with members from customs, ports and other stakeholders to address operational issues.
Flight cancellations
Civil aviation minister K. Rammohan Naidu informed the Rajya Sabha on Monday that 4,335 flights had been cancelled by Indian airlines and 1,187 flights by foreign carriers so far because of the West Asia conflict.
