Petroleum Minister approves proposal to expand the Scheme for sale of non-subsidised 5 KG LPG Cylinders from Petrol Stations

Scheme was earlier launched on Oct 5 from Select COCO Petrol Pumps in Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Bangalore

The Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gar Dr M Veerappa Moily has approved a proposal to extend the scope of the Scheme for sale of non-subsidised 5 KG LPG cylinders from Petrol Stations(Petrol Pumps/Retail Outlets) of Oil Marketing PSUs (OMCs) in other parts of the country subject to the Election Code of Conduct. The Scheme was earlier launched by Dr Moily on October 5, 2013 at Bangalore for sale of these cylinders from select Company Owned and Company Operated (COCO) Petrol Pumps in Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Bangalore. Further, OMCs have been allowed to include Petrol Stations other than COCO subject to the statutory clearances of OISD/PESO (Oil Industry Safety Directorate/ Petroleum Explosive & Safety This decision is expected to benefit the common man as sale of 5 kg LPG cylinders at market price with minimal documentation would facilitate easier availability of LPG at more selling points. Traditionally, OMCs have been marketing LPG filled cylinders to various customers through LPG distributor network all over India from their own LPG bottling Plants supplied to the Distributors godown. All such customers are being enrolled by collecting Proof of Identity (POI), Proof of Address (POA) and a deposit for the cylinder and regulator and in turn issuing a Subscription Voucher thereby loaning the equipment to the customer in lieu of the deposit received. Such customers are registered into OMC database as customers and subsequent refills are issued to only such customers who place their booking against the above customer number. The cylinder is home delivered by LPG distributor in case of regular distributors and in case of RGGLV it is on Cash and Carry basis. There is an emerging segment of new consumers like IT professionals, BPO employees who want LPG but in absence of proper proof of address (POA) cannot access the same. Further, because of their highly irregular work timings, they may not be able to visit the distributor or be at home to receive cylinders during normal working hours. For some consumers, the need is in small parcels or arises at odd times of the day when distributors may be closed. This initiative allows sale of 5 kg LPG cylinders at market price with merely any Proof of Identity (POI) through Petrol Stations to attend to demand of such consumers. The Sale of 5 kg cylinders will be done (Equipment + Product) at Non Domestic rates with /without regulator for the first time by charging Rs. 1000/- plus applicable taxes for the cylinder and Rs. 250/- plus applicable taxes for regulator. The cost of product and refills i.e. Cost of LPG will be as per non domestic rates applicable in the market. This scheme is expected to be a boon to migratory population such as students, IT professionals, BPO employees and persons with odd duty timings as it would provide them the flexibility to pick up cylinders and obtain subsequent refills at time of their choice as Petrol Stations are open for longer hours. Courtesy: Press Information Bureau (pib.nic.in)