The Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas has issued a clarification stating that several reports claiming a change in LPG refill booking timelines are false. The Ministry, in a statement, clarified that the existing refill booking timelines “remain unchanged.”
The Ministry said, “It has come to the notice of the Government that certain news reports and social media posts are claiming revised LPG refill booking timelines – 45 days for PMUY connections, 25 days for non-PMUY single bottle connections, and 35 days for non-PMUY double bottle connections. It is clarified that no such changes have been made. The existing refill booking timelines remain unchanged and continue to be.”
The notification added that the government’s existing refill timelines are 25 days in urban areas and 45 days in rural areas, irrespective of connection type.
Adequate LPG stocks: Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas
The Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas reiterated in the notification that adequate LPG stocks are available in the country, and there is no cause for concern.
“Citizens are advised not to believe or circulate such misinformation and to avoid unnecessary or panic booking of LPG refills,” the statement added.
Earlier on Tuesday, a senior government official said that the country has sufficient stocks of petrol and diesel. Speaking at an Inter-Ministerial Briefing on Recent Developments in West Asia, Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, stated that all refineries are currently operating at high capacity and have adequate crude inventories.
“All the refineries are operating at high capacity with adequate crude inventories. We have sufficient stock of petrol and diesel. The domestic production of LPG has been stepped up in the refineries,” she said.
Monitoring black marketing
Regarding monitoring the situation, Sharma said that in about 32 states, control rooms and district-level monitoring committees have been set up, and under the enforcement action, the team is raiding locations where reports of illegal activities, such as gas cylinder hoarding and black marketing, have been received.
Apart from this, the secretary also disclosed that the team of oil marketing companies was active and that about 1,500 surprise inspections had taken place.