Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 150
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 151
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181]
LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Cooking gas cap may fuel black marketing-Rajeev Jayaswal

Cooking gas cap may fuel black marketing-Rajeev Jayaswal

Share this article Share this article
published Published on Sep 21, 2012   modified Modified on Sep 21, 2012
-The Economic Times
Gas
The government's decision to cap supply of subsidised cooking gas cylinders to six a year would be difficult to implement and encourage black marketing, oil industry officials said.
 
There could be an opportunity to divert cheaper cylinders from customers whose yearly consumption is less than six refills, industry officials said. According to the oil ministry 44% of consumers take six cylinders or less in a year.

All India LPG Distributors Federation (AILDF) general secretary Chandra Prakesh accepts that there could be a possibility of such diversions. "But it will be possible only if both the distributor and the customer conspire. It is not possible for a distributor to indulge in such malpractice because customer will immediately detect it through transparency portal," Prakesh, who runs an Indane gas agency in Delhi, said.

"There is an incentive of Rs 350 per cylinder, which is enough for many people to get connections only to sell cylinders in the black market," said CEO of a private multi-national energy firm requesting anonymity. Market rate of a cylinder is about Rs 750, but a subsidised cylinder costs only Rs 399 in Delhi.

Industry officials say that an organised system of malpractices could emerge in LPG sales, similar to the kerosene market, which has seen large-scale diversion of cheap kerosene for adulteration of diesel. According to official estimates, more than 40% of cheap kerosene, meant for public distribution, is diverted because it is about Rs 32 a litre cheaper than diesel.

The ministry officials say that the government is aware of such "operational issues" and it will institute appropriate mechanisms to check diversion of subsidised cylinders. "Transparency portal is already in place, which will ensure that government pays subsidy for only six cylinders. We will hold distributors responsible for the implementation," one official said.

Distributors have demanded that they should not be penalised for small lapses in implementation of the new system for about three-six months and their commissions should be raised immediately as the system would increase their operational costs.

"There is an apprehension that customers may take delivery of a cylinder but later deny its delivery saying he never signed the receipt. This can be resolved through issuing six coupons for each customer," Prakesh said. Another solution is to verify delivery of cylinders by sending an SMS, he added.

AILDF said the government took the decision without consulting about 10,500 distributors. The federation's president Pratap Doshi said that although distributors were the main "executants" of the scheme, it has been implemented "with haste without taking the AILDF and its network into consideration."

Oil ministry officials said the government would soon raise gas distributors commission as the matter was pending since 2009. The federation has threatened to stop home delivery of cylinders after Sept 30 unless their commission is raised.

The Economic Times, 21 September, 2012, http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/energy/oil-gas/cooking-gas-cap-may-fuel-black-marketing/articleshow/16483133.cms


Related Articles

 

Write Comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

Video Archives

Archives

share on Facebook
Twitter
RSS
Feedback
Read Later

Contact Form

Please enter security code
      Close