Congress MLA flags LPG shortage in Assembly; Gujarat govt denies supply crunch

The Gujarat government on Friday rejected the Opposition Congress’s claim of an LPG shortage in the state, saying more than four lakh cylinders were available in stock.

The statement was made on the floor of the State Assembly while replying to allegations that the West Asia conflict had affected supplies.

The issue came up during the discussion on the budgetary demands of the Food, Civil Supply and Consumer Affairs Department.

Speaking on the demands, Congress MLA Shailesh Parmar raised concerns about LPG availability in the state.

Parmar said, “This is just the beginning of the war and the government is issuing messages to consumers, homemakers and traders.

Yet thousands of people are standing in queues at gas agencies.”
As Parmar raised the issue, Speaker Shankar Chaudhary reminded him that LPG supply falls under the purview of the Central government.

Parmar maintained that the matter could still be discussed in the House.

At this point, Forest and Environment Minister Arjun Modhwadia objected, saying the issue was sensitive.

“Just yesterday we were sitting with the Chief Minister when the Tankara (Morbi district) MLA was present.

The Chief Minister himself said there is no shortage of gas in Morbi for gas-based units.There is no shortage of any other gas.

We should not say anything that may misguide people,” he said.

“Certainly, the war could affect trade and businesses.

But talking about a shortage only leads to queues,” he added.

Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rushikesh Patel also intervened, saying statements made in the Assembly could affect people across the state.

He reiterated that LPG supply is handled by the Central government.

However, Parmar argued that the issue could be raised since gas agencies fall under the Civil Supply Department.

“Thousands of people are queuing outside gas agencies that fall under the Civil Supply Department.

There are also instances of black marketing.

It falls under the civil supply department.

That is why I am raising the issue,” he said.

Later, while replying to the budgetary demands, Food, Civil Supply and Consumer Affairs Minister Raman Solanki addressed the matter.

“For the past two to three days, media reports about LPG have been appearing.

In reality, Chief MinisterBhupendra Patel, Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi and all of us are continuously monitoring the situation,” Solanki said.

He added that the government was taking steps to ensure adequate supply across the state.

“As of today, according to the latest figures, the state has a stock of 4,16,504 cylinders.

Of these, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd has 1,66,128, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd has 1,50,009 and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd has 1,00,367 cylinders,” Solanki said.

He suggested that, apart from complaints highlighted in the media, no widespread shortage had been reported.

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