5kg LPG cylinder sales allowed at petrol pumps nationwide

NEW DELHI: Oil minister M Veerappa Moily on Monday approved sale of 5kg cooking gas cylinders from all petrol pumps across the country, subject to statutory safety clearance and the Election Commission's nod since polls have been announced in five states.

As first reported by ToI on June 24, Moily planned the sale of the small cylinders from select petrol pumps with the aim of making clean cooking fuel within easy reach of migratory population like students, professionals, BPO workers and vendors who move cities for work or keep odd hours.

This sizeable chunk of the population now uses refills of 2-3kg size that are of dubious quality. Moreover, these consumers pay up to Rs 150 or so extra to neighbourhood operators who illegally fill up the small cylinders from subsidized cylinders.

The idea was also to save hassle for a family that may need some extra fuel for a special occasion or runs out of gas after working hours. In such a situation, consumers can just pick up a refill off-the-shelf from a petrol pump.

The sale was launched on October 5 in the four metros and Bengaluru. It was limited to select petrol pumps owned and operated by oil companies, which constitute about 3% of the 47,000 petrol pumps in the country.

The decision to limit the sale to company-owned and operated pumps drew criticism from petrol pump owners, who too wanted the opportunity to earn some extra buck and improve utilization of space.

Limiting the sale to select pumps took away much from the objective of making cooking gas freely available round the corner. Moily's latest decision removes both these anomalies.

The small cylinders will be sold at market rates, which are more than double the subsidized price of Rs 410 per 14.2-kg cylinder in Delhi. The first-time purchase of a 5-kg cylinder will cost Rs 1,000 plus taxes, while a regulator will be available for Rs 250 and taxes. The cost of the product and refills will be based on non-subsidized rates.

However, the scheme will be deferred in Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, where assembly elections are being held in November and December.

Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum own and operate a combined 1,440 outlets across the country. For the launch of the scheme, a few dozen pumps in the five cities were initially chosen.