Guwahati, May 30: Keeping the home fires burning is a costly proposition in the Northeast.

LPG consumers in all states of the region, barring Assam, pay a higher amount than that fixed by the Assam Oil Division of the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) for new connections. Most people are unaware that they are paying more than the stipulated price.

Dealers attribute the inconsistent pricing to high transportation costs and the varying price tags on stoves.

Off the record, they admit that the prices actually vary because they are compelled to pay illegal taxes to militants and the so-called goonda tax at checkposts.

IOC has fixed the cost of a new LPG connection, excluding the stove, at approximately Rs 1,000. This includes Rs 500 as security deposit for the cylinder, approximately Rs 255 for the price of gas, Rs 50 for the regulator, Rs 100 as installation charge, Rs 20 for documentation, Rs 10 for the blue consumer card and between Rs 60 and Rs 80 for the rubber tube.

However, in Nagaland and Manipur, a new single-cylinder LPG connection — inclusive of a double-burner stove — costs anything between Rs 2,700 and Rs 3,600. In Meghalaya, consumers have to pay between Rs 2,400 and Rs 3,400, depending on the quality of the stove that comes with the connection.

In Manipur, the rates depend on a consumer’s contacts and his/her ability to bargain. In Arunachal Pradesh, a new single-cylinder connection, excluding the stove, costs Rs 1,700. Another Rs 800 is charged if a consumer wants two cylinders and Rs 700 extra for a double-burner stove. Consumers in Mizoram have to pay Rs 3,200 for a double-cylinder connection.

LPG connections are available at a subsidised rate in Tripura with the Apex Co-operative Society fixing the price of a single-cylinder connection at Rs 2,065, which includes the charge for a stove priced at Rs 1,625. Private dealers charge Rs 1,110 for a single-cylinder connection without a stove.

Contrast this with the rates in Guwahati, where consumers pay amounts ranging between Rs 1,800 and Rs 2,000 for each single-cylinder connection with a stove.

Dealers in the city charge between Rs 800 and Rs 1,000 for an ISI-marked double-burner stove of the same quality as the ones available in Dimapur, Imphal, Agartala and Shillong.

The customer service assistant of Sato Gas Agency in Dimapur, the commercial hub of Nagaland, said: “The quality of the stoves we provide are better and so are our services.”

IOC sources admitted that there could be differences in the cost of gas refills in the states of the region because of varying transportation charges. However, the price of a new connection must not vary, they said.

“The price of a new connection has to be the same in all seven states of the Northeast. More importantly, a dealer cannot force consumers into buying stoves while providing new connections,” a senior IOC official said.

Consumers in all states of the region pay more than they have to for LPG refills, too. The easy availability of cylinders in the black market contradicts claims by dealers that they do not receive their quotas of cylinders on time.

In Guwahati, a cylinder costs between Rs 270 and Rs 290 in the black market. Residents of Dimapur have to pay upto Rs 325 for a cylinder if it is not booked legally, while the price for the same ranges between Rs 270 and Rs 280 in Shillong.

(With inputs from our correspondents in Shillong, Imphal, Aizawl, Kohima, Itanagar and Agartala)