The government has come out with detailed guidelines for the use of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as automobile fuel.
As per a gazette order containing the guidelines, only fixed cylinders will be allowed in vehicles as fuel tanks for the use of LPG as automobile fuel and these cylinders will have to be filled in that position only.
This has come as a big dampener for the parallel marketeers of LPG who have been pressing the government to allow replaceable cylinders as in the case of domestic LPG. This would have obviated the need for them to invest in setting up their own dispensing stations since they could have bottled LPG at bottling plants and then supplied these to those having retail outlets.
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However, the parallel marketeers can sell LPG in the unbottled form to the dispensing station owners.
However, as a sop to the parallel marketeers, the government has allowed all the private companies engaged in the import, storage and marketing of LPG and having a rating certificate to market the gas as automobile fuel. Earlier, the government was planning to restrict it only to those who had invested Rs 2,000 crore in the petroleum sector.
The order makes it clear that no person will acquire, sell, store for sale, supply, fill or distribute auto LPG to a consumer except according to the provision contained in the government order.
It is also categorical that no person will store, supply or dispense with auto LPG unless he is an auto LPG dispensing station dealer.
The order says that every auto LPG dispensing station dealer will procure or purchase auto LPG from either a government oil company or a parallel marketeer.
As per the order, no parallel marketeer will commence any activity relating to the business of auto LPG without obtaining a minimum of low-risk rating certificate on the basis of evaluation and rating for his capability, infrastructure network and readiness to carry out the business.