New Delhi, March 27 (IANS) The Central government on Friday increased the allocation of commercial LPG cylinders to 70 per cent of the required demand, from 50 per cent earlier, in order to provide relief to industrial and commercial users amid the shortage of gas caused by the disruption in imports due to the Iran war.

Priority will be given to labour-intensive sectors such as steel, automobiles, textiles, dyes, chemicals and plastics as they also support other essential industries.

Among these sectors, priority shall be given to process industries or those requiring LPG for specialised heating purposes that cannot be substituted by natural gas.

In addition to the existing 50 per cent allocation that is being made, another 20 per cent is proposed, which would bring the total commercial LPG allocation to 70 per cent of the pre-crisis level of packed non-domestic LPG, the government order said.

The government, however, noted that to avail the additional 20 per cent allocation, all commercial and industrial LPG consumers must register with oil marketing companies and apply for PNG with the city gas distribution entity in their respective cities.

"If industries specified in paragraph 1 of this letter (steel, automobile, textile, dye, chemicals, and plastics), where LPG is used in the process and for special purposes which cannot be substituted by natural gas, such requirement would stand waived," the order said.

The government also urged all states to immediately avail the 10 per cent reform-based allocation, if they have not already done so. "With this, the allocation to commercial/industrial LPG will rise to 70 per cent (with 10 per cent reform-based) and enable relief to industrial operations in the state," the order explains.

The earlier additional 20 per cent allocation, which was issued on March 21, gave priority to sectors like restaurants, dhabas, hotels, industrial canteens, food processing/dairy, subsidised canteens/outlets run by state government or local bodies for food, community kitchens, as well as 5 kg (free trade LPG) FTL for migrant labourers.

According to the latest data from the petroleum ministry, as of March 25, more than 37,000 – 5kg FTL cylinders have been sold to migrant labourers.

The LPG cylinders will be distributed by state governments and district authorities based on their judgement of priority sectors or consumers.

Meanwhile, Iran has indicated that it will allow more Indian ships carrying LPG to transit through the Strait of Hormuz. The development comes after the Indian government held talks with the Iranian authorities on the issue.

--IANS

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