Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government has requested oil companies to relax curbs imposed on the supply of commercial LPG cylinders amid the Middle East crisis. A war room has been opened at the Civil Supplies Commissionerate in Thiruvananthapuram to review the LPG shortage.

A decision in this regard was taken at high-level meetings chaired by Civil Supplies Minister GR Anil and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on March 9 and March 12, respectively. Representatives of oil companies — IOC, BPCL and HPCL — attended the meetings.

As Kerala is a consumer state, the government requested the oil companies to provide necessary relaxations in the supply of commercial cylinders. Minister GR Anil has also written to Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri with the same request.

The oil companies have indicated that they will prioritise the supply of commercial LPG cylinders to essential sectors such as old-age homes, hospitals, orphanages, schools, Janakeeya and Subhiksha hotels, school and college hostels, hotels attached to hostels, guest houses, and canteens in government and public sector office campuses.

The Food and Civil Supplies Department will prepare and share a list of priority sectors and institutions with the oil companies. The oil companies will provide their database of non-domestic consumers, which will be analysed by the Civil Supplies War Room with support from the IT Mission to identify essential-category non-domestic consumers.

Govt to monitor LPG stock
The state government has also instructed the oil companies to submit details of daily stock, supply, arrivals and dispatch of LPG from public sector gas agencies to district administrations and the Civil Supplies Department before 11 am. The IT Mission has been tasked with developing a dashboard system for this purpose. Until it becomes operational, oil companies will upload data to the department-provided Google Sheets.

Additionally, oil companies will share daily information on production and stock levels at LPG bottling plants with the Civil Supplies Commissioner’s office for monitoring. Taluk Supply Officers will collect and analyse daily data on stock and distribution from private gas agencies.

Only five cylinders in one establishment
The government has also directed that establishments using LPG for commercial purposes should not store more than five additional cylinders beyond those connected for use.

Strict action will be taken against the illegal diversion of domestic LPG cylinders to hotels under the LPG Control Order of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955. So far, inspections have been conducted at 84 gas agencies and 252 hotels, resulting in the seizure of 57 cylinders in Kottayam district and seven in Thiruvananthapuram district.

The government has also formed special squads to conduct intensive inspections, including on holidays, to prevent the sale of cylinders on the black market.