Bad news for gas cylinder owners! The government changed the rules, will your connection also be closed?

If you have piped gas (PNG) in your house and you also keep a LPG cylinder (LPG), then this news can blow your senses. The Government of India is now keeping a close watch on people who have two connections each. The objective of the government is clear – proper utilization of subsidies and resources. According to the latest figures, till now more than 43,000 people have come forward and surrendered their gas cylinders, and this is just the beginning.

Why has the government changed the rules?

The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has geared up to stop the misuse of LPG. Actually, an important notification was issued on March 14 under the Essential Commodities Act (ESMA). After this new order, now keeping LPG cylinder or getting it refilled is completely banned for those houses where PNG connection already exists. Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary of the Ministry, has made it clear that at present such consumers are being identified and this action will be intensified in the coming days.

Now the connection will have to be surrendered immediately

According to the new rules, if gas is coming to your house through pipe, you will have to surrender your domestic LPG connection immediately. Not only this, the houses which have PNG installed will no longer be able to get a new LPG connection. The government has given strict instructions to oil companies and gas agencies that they should neither give new connections to such customers nor refill their old cylinders.

What is the real reason behind this strictness?

The main objective of the government is to provide LPG to those families who do not have the facility of piped gas. Apart from this, the global situation has also increased the concern of the government. Due to the ongoing tension in West Asia, there is pressure on energy supply across the world. India imports about 88% of its crude oil, 50% natural gas and 60% LPG requirement from abroad. In such a situation, in order to utilize the limited resources in the right place, the government has currently banned the issuance of new LPG connections.