Kolkata: Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday attacked the Government of India over the acute shortage of cooking gas, blaming the crisis on what she called “ill-planned and abrupt decisions” by the Centre.
She also announced that she would lead a protest rally on Monday to highlight what she described as the Centre’s failure to ensure adequate LPG supply to households and essential services.
Banerjee convened an emergency meeting at Nabanna with key departments to explore alternatives, but said that the state’s ability to intervene was limited as the LPG supply chain remains under the Union government’s control.
However, she directed state refineries to prioritise meeting local cooking gas demand and requested that LPG produced within the state not be sent outside for the time being.
“If our cooking gas cylinders go outside the state, we won’t be able to get them back during a crisis. We must first take care of our own households,” Banerjee told reporters after a meeting with representatives of oil and gas companies at ‘Soujanya’ in the southern part of the city’s Alipore area.
She specifically urged refineries in Haldia, Kolaghat, and Durgapur to focus on supplying cooking gas to households and essential services.
Chief Secretary Nandini Chakrabarti, DGP Piyush Pandey, secretaries from relevant departments, representatives from Indian Oil, Bharat Gas, and CNG companies were also present at the meeting.
The CM said panic among the public due to fears of a gas shortage has worsened the situation.
“Many people believe that if a cylinder runs out, they may have to wait up to 25 days for a new one. Such messages have triggered widespread panic,” she said.
“If there is hoarding or black marketing anywhere, the government will not tolerate it. Gas cylinders will be seized if necessary and distributed among common people,” she added.
The shortage of domestic and commercial cylinders has disrupted services in schools, hospitals, hostels and ICDS centres. Mid-day meal kitchens in some schools have struggled to function. Restaurants, hotels and auto drivers running gas-powered vehicles have also been affected.
However, the dealers assured the CM that there would be no shortage for healthcare, the mid-day meal programme and Integrated Child Development Services centres.
Banerjee alleged the crisis was triggered by a recent Union directive that cylinders would be supplied only 25 days after booking, saying the sudden move caused panic and encouraged hoarding and black marketing.
“Gas supply is completely under the Union Petroleum Ministry. They suddenly declared that cylinders will not be available within 25 days of booking. If such a decision is taken without preparation, opportunists will take advantage,” she said in a telephonic interview with a private television channel.
Rejecting the Centre’s claim that global war conditions disrupted supply, she questioned why an adequate buffer stock had not been created.
“You display pictures of Narendra Modi at petrol pumps but do not know how much stock you have. When households, transport and hotels are in trouble, there is no proper planning,” she said.
The Centre has invoked the Essential Commodities Act to curb hoarding, but Banerjee said policing alone would not solve the crisis. Referring to the Essential Services Maintenance Act, she said arrests would not address people’s problems.
Demanding transparency, she urged PM Modi and Union Home minister to make a statement in Parliament and publish a white paper on the country’s gas reserves.
Dealers were asked to coordinate with the state and share daily stock and supply information, while nodal officers will be appointed in each district to monitor bookings and delivery.
Banerjee said a Standard Operating Procedure would be prepared after discussions with dealers, who have also been asked to frame their own SOP. She stressed that uninterrupted LPG supply is essential for households, auto drivers, ICDS services, the mid-day meal scheme and small food stalls.
Banerjee said panic among the public had worsened the situation, with normal bookings rising from around two lakh to six lakh and overwhelming gas companies’ servers. She directed companies to restore servers immediately and prioritise households whose cylinders have run out or are about to.
A virtual review with departments and district administrations is scheduled for Thursday.
Meanwhile, the shortage of commercial LPG cylinders has severely hit the F&B sector in Kolkata. Several restaurants have already trimmed their menus, and many have shifted to induction cooking.
Anjan Chatterjee, Founder, Chairman & Managing Director, Speciality Restaurants Ltd, who owns premier restaurants in Kolkata like Oh! Calcutta and Mainland China, said that if the same situation persists in the next couple of days, he will have to shut down the outlets in the city.