Bombay High Court notice to Centre over LPG shortage after 6 distributors file plea

The Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court on Thursday issued notices to the Union Government of India, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, and Confidence Petroleum India Limited on a petition filed by six LPG distributors claiming inadequate supply of domestic cooking gas cylinders, reports stated.

A bench comprising Justice Anil S Kilor and Justice Raj D Wakode passed the order while hearing the plea submitted by distributors linked with Confidence Petroleum. The petitioners have sought directions for increasing the supply of household LPG cylinders.

The court has scheduled the matter for further hearing on Monday.

In the interim, the bench reportedly directed that the storage and distribution of domestic LPG cylinders must strictly follow the policies framed by the government.

The distributors argued that despite policy instructions from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas emphasising priority supply for domestic consumers, the company had not sufficiently increased the availability of household cylinders. They also claimed that their repeated requests urging the company to suspend LPG exports and divert more supply to the domestic market had not been addressed.

The petition further stated that disruptions in global crude oil supply, triggered by the ongoing tensions between Iran and Israel, have impacted oil transportation from key producers such as Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Syria, leading to challenges in LPG production.

In response to the evolving situation, the ministry had issued directives stating that LPG production and supply for domestic consumption should be prioritised, the petition noted.