Telangana Urgently Requests Increased Auto LPG Supplies from Central Government
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Hyderabad, March 31 (NationPress) The government of Telangana urgently appealed to the Centre for a significant increase in auto LPG supplies to address a daily shortfall. Minister for Civil Supplies N. Uttam Kumar Reddy sent a request letter to Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri, highlighting that the state is currently facing a shortfall of 55 MTs daily.
The state administration emphasized the need to enhance the auto LPG supply at the outlets of public sector undertakings including IOCL, BPCL, and HPCL.
Reddy pointed out that the auto LPG sector in Telangana has suffered greatly, impacting nearly 100,000 autorickshaws operating on LPG, which has led to disruptions in public transport services and adversely affected the livelihoods of auto drivers and their families. He urged Puri to provide immediate directives to public sector units to assist private companies by supplying the necessary LPG to those involved in auto LPG distribution.
He also noted that prices have soared to Rs 93 per litre at private outlets, while public sector units charge Rs 75. He called for regulatory actions to prevent unjustified price hikes by private distributors amid this crisis.
Uttam Kumar Reddy requested that the Central minister enhance supply, support private distributors, and mitigate price surges. He reassured that the state is complying with the directives from the Centre to manage the current LPG supply challenges stemming from the ongoing crisis in the Middle East.
The supply of domestic LPG is being maintained at 100 percent to fulfill essential household requirements, while commercial LPG distributions are being regulated as per the Centre's instructions, he added.
The auto LPG distribution network in Telangana comprises both public and private operators. Public sector units collectively manage about 20 percent of the market, operating 33 outlets, whereas private operators such as Super Gas, Go Gas, Total Energies, Prime Gas, Extra Gas, Aegis Gas, and Uni Gas control a much larger network of 110 outlets, accounting for 80 percent of the market share.
"Due to existing supply constraints, there is a daily shortfall of approximately 55 MTs of Auto LPG, causing many private outlets to run dry, which disrupts public transport services and leads to public unrest," the letter states.