The government has announced a broad-based directive, which is expected to change the way millions of Indian homes are going to power their kitchens, effectively making it mandatory for people to switch from LPG cylinders to piped natural gas. The government, through a new directive from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, has now ordered people who live in areas served by an active pipeline network to switch from LPG cylinders to natural gas within a period of three months, or risk having their supply of bottled gas completely turned off.
The timing of the intervention is a direct response to the worsening energy crunch being caused by the ongoing conflict in West Asia. As LPG supply chains are dislocated and prices skyrocket, the Ministry is looking to shield home consumers by "nudging" them towards PNG, which has the advantage of a more diversified supply chain and an increasingly larger proportion of home-grown production. Oil Secretary Neeraj Mittal has termed this as "a crisis turned into an opportunity," which suggests that the crisis has provided the necessary push for the modernisation of the nation's energy supply.
Under the new framework, which falls under the Essential Commodities Act, the transition is no longer a matter of personal preference. Once a household is formally notified that a pipeline connection is available, the clock starts ticking; three months later, the delivery of LPG cylinders to that address will legally cease. The only exception to this rule is in cases where a connection is deemed "technically infeasible," a status that requires a formal no-objection certificate from the supplier.
So, in order that the process is not brought to a complete halt, the government has also done away with the bureaucratic red tape that is usually involved in the process of laying pipelines. Here, the local authorities are supposed to grant the necessary permissions within a certain period of time, or a deemed approval will come into effect. In housing complexes, access for gas companies must be granted within three working days, and "last-mile" connections are to be completed within 48 hours of an application. By forcibly redirecting LPG stocks away from piped-up urban centres, the government hopes to shore up supplies for rural regions that still lack the infrastructure for anything other than the traditional cylinder.
Also read: Oppn protest in Parliament House over 'LPG shortage'
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