Overtime at LPG bottling plants raises safety concerns in the industry

Almost six months after a massive fire broke out at an LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) bottling plant of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL), at Cherlapally in Hyderabad, the government's decision to give a go-ahead for night shifts at such plants has raised safety concerns in the industry.
 
This decision came after LPG demand increased considerably on the back of government schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) over the past two years. “Earlier, bottling units used to work for eight hours. Now, with clearance from the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO), we will be allowed to work 24x7, depending on demand from a particular area. The current capacity utilisation of existing 180 bottling plants is around 120 per cent,” said an executive from an oil marketing company (OMC).

 
LPG consumption in India increased 10 per cent from 19.62 million tonnes in 2015-16 to 21.54 mt in 2016-17. It is expected to touch 23.5 mt in 2017-18. Industry sources say because of higher demand, there is increasing pressure on these plants to work overtime.
 

“One major reason for night shifts is because we do not have enough plants to meet the rising demand. At least 32 bottling plants are awaiting environment and other clearances — of which 21 are of Indian Oil Corporation,” said an OMC executive.
 
However, there is unlikely to be any extra hiring, as a majority of workers in bottling plants are hired on contract.

 
“Clearance for night shifts will be taken plant-to-plant basis. We are filling 40-45 million cylinders on a daily basis and one has to appreciate that the government is doing this without any glitch. To meet the rising demand, we need urgent clearances of these stuck projects,” the official said.
 
The higher number of hours has helped bring down waiting time for a refill. It was as high as 15 days earlier in the Northeast and in Kerala but has come down to four or five days.