New Delhi: The Centre has asked states and Union Territories to provide district-level administrative support to expedite the switch from LPG to piped natural gas (PNG) in household kitchens as it is a safer cooking fuel and cuts the logistics burden on oil companies.
Petroleum Secretary Neeraj Mittal, in a letter sent to the Chief Secretaries of all states, sought district-level intervention to implement a regulatory framework to prevent households from retaining both LPG and PNG connections in areas where piped gas is available.
“PNG brings a safer, cleaner and more efficient cooking fuel, playing a critical role in advancing the country’s energy transition objectives. Its accelerated adoption contributes to reducing the logistics burden associated with LPG distribution, enhancing consumer convenience, and improving utilisation of CGD infrastructure created through substantial public and private investment,” the Petroleum Secretary said in his letter.
The government has already been encouraging consumers to shift to PNG as the Strait of Hormuz through which 50 per cent of India’s LPG imports transited was choked due to the Middle East crisis. This had led to a major disruption in the supply chain for LPG.
It also notified the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Regulation of Supply and Distribution) Amendment Order, 2026, aimed to provide additional relaxation and convenience to domestic LPG consumers who shift to PNG connections. About 7.99 Lakh PNG connections were gasified and infrastructure created for an additional 2.87 lakh connections, taking the total to 10.86 lakh connections during the West Asia crisis.
The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has now directed authorised city gas distribution (CGD) entities and public-sector oil marketing companies to establish a PNG Coordination Committee (PCC) in every geographical area.
The committees will identify eligible housing societies and households, issue statutory notices to housing societies, resident welfare associations and individual consumers, and conduct outreach camps to accelerate PNG connections.
The ministry said the PCC mechanism is already operational, but its experience so far shows that district-level administrative support is crucial for implementing the transition within prescribed timelines.
The district administration will be expected to help secure right of way or right of use from RWAs and housing societies, facilitate the transition between LPG distributors and CGD entities, support consumer outreach and verification, and resolve consumer grievances.
It will also monitor PNG adoption in notified areas and, where required, enable designated officers to exercise powers under the control orders when access to non-public areas is refused.
The ministry said officials of the Department of Food and Civil Supplies are best placed to provide this support because of their existing regulatory interface with LPG distributors and their field-level administrative reach.
The state governments have been asked to nominate one nodal officer at the district level, not below the rank of district supply officer, to be formally associated with the local PCC.
The ministry has urged states to accord priority to the matter, citing the government’s commitment to expanding PNG adoption in a time-bound manner.
(IANS)
