Lok Sabha Question No. 3581 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2015-12-21
Subject: Tamper Caps for LPG
Ministry: PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS
Asked by: SURESH CHANABASAPPA ANGADI, K. MARAGATHAM, VINOD KUMAR BOIANAPALLI, RANGASWAMY DHRUVANARAYANA, DALPAT SINGH PARASTE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.  3581 TO BE ANSWERED ON 21 ST  DECEMBER,  2015

## TAMPER CAPS FOR LPG

- 3581  SHRI SURESH C. ANGADI:

SHRIMATI K. MARAGATHAM:

SHRI B. VINOD KUMAR:

SHRI R. DHRUVA NARAYANA:

SHRI DALPAT SINGH PARASTE:

## Will the Minister of PETROLEUM and NATURAL GAS be pleased to state:

(a) whether any proposal to introduce tamper proof caps for LPG cylinders to stop the supply of underweight cylinders;

(b) if  so,  the  details  thereof  along with steps taken by the Government to stop the pilferage of LPG;

- (c)  whether  the  Government  has  noticed  cases  of  insistence  of  purchase  of  gas stoves  from  the  agencies,  charging  for  documentation,  insisting  for  gas  stove receipts from the applicant and if so, the details thereof along with user friendly steps taken for non-subsidised applicants in the country, State/UT/Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs)-wise;

(d)  whether  the  OMCs  plans  to  launch  online  payment  for  LPG  cylinder  and  LPG 'smart cards' that could be used for booking/ refilling a cylinder through mylpg. in;

(e)  if  so,  the  details  thereof  along  with  salient  feature  of  the  said  scheme  and  the time by which the said scheme is likely to be implemented in the country including rural areas, State/UT-wise; and

(f) the number of customers can be benefited from the said scheme?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE  (INDEPENDENT  CHARGE)  IN  THE  MINISTRY  OF PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS (SHRI DHARMENDRA PRADHAN)

(a)  &  (b)  Yes,  Madam.    Public  Sector  Oil  Marketing  Companies(OMCs)  have reported that Tamper Evident Seals are presently implemented in Delhi, market.

Tamper  Evident  Seals  are  prone  to  tearing  in  case  of  attempted  forced removal of seal for pilferage. These seals have a special formulation, manufacturing process  and  design  so  as  to  prevent  their  re-use.  This  seal  cannot  be  removed without  damaging  it,  thereby  making  it  impossible  to  reuse  the  seal.  These  seals come  with  a  multi  security  hologram  as  an  anti  counterfeiting  measure  to  curb manufacture of duplicate seals. Instructions for customer to detect tampered seals are printed on the seal itself.

Further,  OMCs  have  reported  that  instructions  have  been  given  to  the distributors  to  ensure  that  Pre  Delivery  Inspection  (PDI)  is  carried  out  when  the deliveries  are  made  to  the  customers,  which  consist  of  checking  for  intact  seal, correct weight, valve leak, body leak and bung leak of the cylinder at the premises of the customer before the delivery is made.

OMCs also conduct surprise inspections at distributors premises, refill audits, random checks at customers premises, en-route checking of delivery vehicles etc. If LPG  distributors  are  found  guilty  of  any  malpractice,  punitive  action  is  taken  in accordance with the provisions of the Marketing Discipline Guidelines (MDG)/Distributorships Agreement.

(c) OMCs have reported that LPG distributors are under instruction not to insist on purchase of hot plates force fully and displays are also put up in their show rooms to this effect. However, some cases of insistence of purchase of gas stoves/accessories  to  waitlisted  or  newly  enrolled  customers  by  LPG  distributors have been established. State/UT-wise and OMCs-wise details are at Annexure.

In all established cases, action against erring distributors as per the provision of Marketing Discipline guidelines (MDG) is taken by OMCs.

In  case  of  application  for  non-subsidised  LPG  connection,  customers  are enrolled after Know Your Customer (KYC) and de-duplication process as in the case of  subsidized applicants. But it is not mandatory for the applicants to submit Bank details or Aadhaar  information. Further the first refill delivery  can  be  done immediately  after  preparation  of  Subscription  Voucher(SV)  without  waiting  for customer to become Cash Transfer Compliant (CTC).

(d)  &  (e)    OMCs  have  reported  that  online  facility  of  refill  booking  with  online payments  is  in  operation.  However,  Smart  card  based  Delivery  system  has  been implemented by Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd.  in Pune City only.

Salient  features  of  online  refill  booking  facility  with  online  payments  are  as under:

- (i) Customer has to first register in www.mylpg.in or website of the concerned OMCs.
- (ii) Payment options are available via net banking, credit or debit cards.
- (iii) Cash handling will be minimised.
- (iv) For the net banking customers, additional Rs. 8/- transaction charges are payable.
- (v) Customers can book the LPG cylinder and pay online on 24 * 7 basis.

(f) OMCs have reported that total 11829 LPG distributors are availing  the facility of online booking as well as payment facilities and the customers listed with these LPG distributors can benefit from this scheme.

Annexure  referred  to  in  part  (c)  of  the  reply  to  Lok  Sabha  Unstarred  Question  No.  3581  for 21.12.2015  by Shri Suresh C. Angadi and others regarding Tamper Caps for LPG.

| 2013-14, 2014-15 and April - October STATE/UT   |   IOC |   BPC |   HPC |   Total |
|-------------------------------------------------|-------|-------|-------|---------|
| CHANDIGARH                                      |     0 |     0 |     0 |       0 |
| DELHI                                           |     4 |     3 |     0 |       7 |
| HARYANA                                         |     0 |     0 |     0 |       0 |
| HIMACHAL PRADESH                                |     0 |     0 |     0 |       0 |
| JAMMU & KASHMIR                                 |     0 |     0 |     0 |       0 |
| PUNJAB                                          |     0 |     0 |     1 |       1 |
| RAJASTHAN                                       |     1 |     0 |     1 |       2 |
| UTTAR PRADESH                                   |     7 |     2 |     0 |       9 |
| UTTRANCHAL                                      |     0 |     0 |     0 |       0 |
| SUB TOTAL NORTH                                 |    12 |     5 |     2 |      19 |
| ANDAMAN & NICOBAR                               |     0 |     0 |     0 |       0 |
| ARUNACHAL PRADESH                               |     0 |     0 |     0 |       0 |
| ASSAM                                           |     1 |     0 |     0 |       1 |
| BIHAR                                           |     3 |     1 |     0 |       4 |
| JHARKHAND                                       |     0 |     0 |     0 |       0 |
| MANIPUR                                         |     0 |     0 |     0 |       0 |
| MEGHALAYA                                       |     0 |     0 |     0 |       0 |
| MIZORAM                                         |     0 |     0 |     0 |       0 |
| NAGALAND                                        |     0 |     0 |     0 |       0 |
| ODISHA                                          |     0 |     0 |     0 |       0 |
| SIKKIM                                          |     0 |     0 |     0 |       0 |
| TRIPURA                                         |     0 |     0 |     0 |       0 |
| WEST BENGAL                                     |    21 |     0 |     0 |      21 |
| SUB TOTAL EAST                                  |    25 |     1 |     0 |      26 |
| CHATTISGARH                                     |     0 |     0 |     0 |       0 |
| DADRA & NAGAR HAVELI                            |     0 |     0 |     0 |       0 |
| DAMAN & DIU                                     |     0 |     0 |     0 |       0 |
| GOA                                             |     0 |     0 |     0 |       0 |
| GUJARAT                                         |     7 |     0 |     1 |       8 |
| MADHYA PRADESH                                  |     5 |     0 |     0 |       5 |
| MAHARASHTRA                                     |     2 |     0 |     2 |       4 |
| SUB TOTAL WEST                                  |    14 |     0 |     3 |      17 |
| ANDHRA PRADESH                                  |     4 |     0 |     1 |       5 |
| KARNATAKA                                       |     2 |     0 |     1 |       3 |
| KERALA                                          |     4 |     0 |     0 |       4 |
| LAKSHADWEEP                                     |     0 |     0 |     0 |       0 |
| PUDUCHERRY                                      |     0 |     0 |     0 |       0 |
| TAMILNADU                                       |     5 |     0 |     0 |       5 |
| TELANGANA                                       |     0 |     0 |     0 |       0 |
| SUB TOTAL SOUTH                                 |    15 |     0 |     2 |      17 |
| ALL INDIA                                       |    66 |     6 |     7 |      79 |