Guwahati, Apr 17 (PTI) Three persons have been arrested, and licences of six LPG distributors suspended since March in Assam to curb hoarding, illegal diversion and violations of standard operating procedures, a senior official said on Friday.
He, however, maintained that supply of domestic LPG cylinders and petroleum products in the state is “completely normal”.
“Supply of domestic LPG cylinders and petroleum products, including petrol and diesel, is completely normal in Assam,” Nitin Bhatnagar, executive director and state head, IndianOil, said at a press conference here.
Currently, there are 1,737 petroleum retail outlets in Assam (Oil Marketing Companies: 1,461 and private: 276), along with nine supply locations/depots in operation.
On average, 2,935 kilo litre (KL) of petrol (MS) and 3,670 KL of diesel (HSD) are being made available daily through these retail outlets, he said, adding that sufficient stock equivalent to 21 days of petrol and 46 days of diesel is available at the moment.
“All OMC retail outlets are functioning normally, and there are no restrictions on sales. Nozzle sales are in line with normal consumption levels of January–March 2026, indicating stable demand,” Bhatnagar said.
Regarding LPG supply, he said services are being provided to around 93 lakh consumers through 604 distributors and seven bottling plants (six owned and one private) in the state.
On average, 1,39,000 refills are delivered daily, and a backlog of about 4.28 days is being cleared as per the scheduled booking list.
The official further said to curb hoarding and illegal diversion, OMC officials, in association with state government personnel, have conducted 319 inspections since last month.
During this period, three arrests have been made, one FIR registered, and 274 cylinders seized.
Action has also been initiated against OMC LPG distributors for not adhering to the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), including digital protocol of booking and Delivery Acknowledgement Confirmation (DAC).
Show cause notices have been served to 88 OMC LPG distributors, and six have been suspended till now, Bhatnagar added.
Promoting digitisation in LPG services, 84 per cent of bookings are now being made online, compared to just 49 per cent two months ago, the official said.
DAC compliance has been ensured in 72 per cent of cases, up from 37 per cent two months ago.
The number of PMUY (Ujjwala) daily refills in the state was around 44,595 in March, compared to an average of 62,000 in February.
“To support low consumption households, migrant labourers, students, etc., 5 kg LPG cylinders are being made available,” he said. PTI SSG SSG MNB
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