Delhi Commercial LPG Policy: Rekha Gupta govt allows 1,800 19-kg cylinders daily for businesses | See priority list

The Rekha Gupta-led Delhi government on Saturday announced an eight-point priority allocation list to ensure regulated LPG supplies for essential businesses such as restaurants and educational institutions. The move follows the Centre’s decision allowing states and Union Territories to allocate up to 20 per cent of average daily commercial LPG consumption during the current supply constraints.

The decision comes as authorities deal with a surge in LPG bookings amid growing fears of shortages linked to Middle East disruptions, while the government has prioritised domestic cooking gas supplies.

1,800 daily commercial LPG cylinders; restaurants to get biggest share

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The Delhi government will distribute around 1,800 commercial LPG cylinders daily under its allocation system, which gives the top priority to educational institutions, hospitals, railways and airports, followed by government and PSU institutions and canteens, and then restaurants and eateries.

Under this system, restaurants and eateries -- placed at the third spot on the priority list -- will get the maximum share of 42 per cent, followed by government and PSU institutions and their canteens (13 per cent). In terms of number of cylinders, restaurants and eateries will get 762 out of the daily quota of 1,800 cylinders.

Delhi commercial LPG priority allocation

Essential services such as hospitals, educational institutions, railways and airports will receive 100 per cent of their requirement, with allocation distributed across the eight priority sectors.

The daily supply, according to an official notification, will be based on the average consumption recorded over the previous three months.

The Delhi government said that average daily commercial LPG sales in the national capital are recorded at about 9,000 cylinders (19-kg equivalent). The daily quota of 1,800 cylinders for commercial use is based on this volume.

“The average daily sale in the Delhi market by the three OMCs together is approximately 9000 cylinders (19-kg equivalent). Accordingly, 20% of the daily commercial sale, i.e., approximately 1800 cylinders, shall be made available for regulated distribution,” according to the notification.

LPG bookings in Delhi

Bookings will be processed through oil marketing companies Indian Oil Corp, Bharat Petroleum Corp and Hindustan Petroleum Corp's respective online platforms.

Deliveries will be preferably made on a first-in-first-out (FIFO) basis, and the distribution will be based "strictly on booking requests" made by the respective consumers, it noted.

Delhi Commercial LPG | OMC distribution share

Mode of LPG supply

The supply of commercial LPG will be made primarily in the standard 19-kg cylinder format, except where specific capacity requirements exist for Priority 1 institutions, said the notification.

"No supply will be made in 5-kg cylinders," it noted.

The distribution of 5-kg cylinders is not undertaken through LPG distributors int he commercial supply chain and, hence, will be difficult to regulate, it elaborated.

Regular inspections to ensure compliance

The Gupta-led government has instructed joint enforcement teams, including its food and civil supplies department, the Delhi Police and Legal Metrology, to conduct inspections to ensure the implementation of the policy.

The UT administration has warned of strict action, under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, LPG (Regulation of Supply and Distribution) Order, and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, in case of non-compliance.

Authorities have encouraged institutions to use alternative cooking options such as electric induction, steam cooking or PNG to fulfill their requirement.

The UT government said it will issue daily bulletins on LPG availability to prevent panic and misinformation.

“Joint enforcement teams… shall conduct regular inspections and enforcement operations to prevent diversion of LPG cylinders, hoarding, illegal storage, under-weighing and black marketing,” it said.