The government on Tuesday said households getting cooking gas through pipelines will have to surrender their LPG connections. Delhi, Mumbai and some cities in Gujarat are currently being supplied piped natural gas for cooking purposes. This scheme will be extended to several other cities in the near future.

"(The) government has conveyed approval to public sector oil marketing companies to formulate a scheme for surrendering (of the) LPG connection by a customer who is being supplied piped natural gas," Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said.

In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Deora said the LPG customer can also choose to keep the connection in safe custody. Thus, in case the customer changes residence to an area not covered by PNG, s/ he can avail a new LPG connection at the surrendered security deposit rate on a priority basis. "The OMCs are in the process of finalising the scheme," he said.

Deora said suppliers have reported some instances of PNG not being available for short durations on account of damage to the pipeline network. "Efforts are made to resume the supplies of PNG in such cases at the earliest."

To another question, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dinsha Patel said OMCs have reported no overall shortage of LPG in the country. "As on February 19, OMCs have reported a backlog of few days in LPG supplies in certain states in the country due to a combination of factors," he said. The factors included strike by bulk LPG transporters, a spurt in demand and a strike by oil sector officers association.

"The government has advised OMCs to liquidate the backlog in the states by operating the bottling plants on holidays and during extended hours," he said. "All the LPG distributors have been advised to effect the deliveries on Sundays and holidays also. The backlog is expected to be cleared by the end of February."

Patel said new LPG connections were made available as soon as possible and in any case within a period of 60 days. "At present, new LPG connections are available for genuine domestic customers," he said, adding OMCs have reported that they have released 36.80 lakh (3.68 million) new LPG connections during April-December.