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• The State government has traced 24.53 lakh illegal LPG connections in the state in a recent online verification drive. Government has also requested respective gas companies to stop supply of bogus LPG cylinders to state gas agencies. Highly placed sources in the food and civil supplies department told this newspaper that, during verification drive department has found 24.53 lakh bogus LPG connections. The gas agencies have been misusing subsidised LPG connections to sell for commercial use, departmental sources said. Sources confirmed that not all of them fall under the double cylinder category neither do they have the commercial RR number.Due to Chief Minister’s orders, the department has not touched over 10 lakh LPG connections. Consumers have complained to the state government that a few LPG connections have been linked to more than one RR number and subscribers who live in joint families have taken more than one connections under one RR number. Sources said the department is firm in its decision to discontinue bogus LPG connections.

• Though subsidised LPG is supplied by the Central government, the state government has the power under section 3 and 4 of the Essential Commodities Act 1955 to prevent illegal use of such subsidised LPG cylinders. According to state government statistics there are 78, 89,733 LPG connections in the state, in which 24.53 connections are bogus. Recently, the state government has written a letter to Petroleum Ministry urging to discontinue large scale bogus connections. Department has blamed respective gas agencies for creating non- existent subscribers.

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