Telangana, AP to be first to introduce next year
Representational image
Hyderabad: Telangana and Andhra Pradesh will be the first states in the country where transparent cooking gas cylinders will be introduced early next year. The Centre recently took the initiative to check pilferage of LPG from existing metal cylinders.
However, the transparent cylinders will cost up to Rs 3,000, against Rs 1,400 for the metal cylinders, which gas agencies collect as a deposit amount at present. Though delivery boys are supposed to carry weighing machines and weigh the cylinders in front of the consumers before delivering at home, hardly anyone follows the rule.
Oil Marketing Companies –Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), Bharath Petroleum Corporation Limited and IOC – have been receiving many complaints regarding pilferage of gas from metal cylinders. Raids by officials of the Civil Supplies department have also revealed large scale pilferage of gas taking place on the city’s outskirts where gas from domestic cylinders are re-filled in commercial cylinders, vehicles and small cylinders.
The trend has been seen all over the country. Following this, Union petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan in October had announced the Centre's plans to roll out transparent cylinders from March 2016. It was decided to implement the initiative in a phased manner and Telangana and Andhra Pradesh would be covered in the first phase by April 2016. “Initially, it will be implemented only in major cities like Hyderabad in Telangana and Vijayawada and Vizag in Andhra Pradesh. Consumers would be given the option to choose between transparent and metal cylinders in the beginning. Based on the feedback and response, it will be made mandatory later and extended to the entire state,” said an official of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited, adding that the detailed guidelines for the scheme were yet to be finalised.
Officials said the gas in the cylinders would be light blue in colour and could be easily seen from outside to know how much gas was consumed. They said transparent cylinders would be imported in the beginning as the OMCs do not have the facility to manufacture such cylinders at present.
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( Source : deccan chronicle )
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