Nearly 57 per cent of Indian households reported delays in receiving LPG cylinders or instances of black marketing over the past week, as concerns mounted over possible supply disruptions linked to geopolitical tensions in West Asia, according to the results of a nationwide survey released on Friday.
The survey, conducted by LocalCircles, found that a majority of households reported difficulties in obtaining cooking gas cylinders during the past seven days.
The survey gathered over 57,000 responses from household consumers across 309 districts of India. Among the respondents, 61 per cent were men and 39 per cent were women, while 40 per cent came from Tier-1 districts, 27 per cent from Tier-2 districts, and 33 per cent from Tier-3, -4, and -5 districts.
According to the survey results, “57 per cent of household consumers surveyed report experiencing LPG cylinder delays and black marketing in the last one week.”
When respondents were asked whether they faced any difficulty booking or receiving a domestic LPG cylinder in the past seven days, 43 per cent said booking and delivery were normal. However, 29 per cent reported that dealers said cylinders were not available or that booking was delayed.
In addition, 7 per cent said they had to wait longer than usual for delivery, 7 per cent said they had to follow up multiple times to obtain delivery, and 14 per cent reported buying an LPG cylinder from the black market at a higher price.
Dealers reporting supply disruption or delays
The survey also examined whether LPG distributors informed customers about supply problems.
It found that 53 per cent of household consumers surveyed said LPG dealers had warned them of supply disruption or delays during the past week.
Responses to this question showed that:
– 43 per cent said no such issue was mentioned by dealers
– 32 per cent said dealers indicated that supply might be delayed
– 21 per cent said dealers stated that a supply shortage currently existed
– 4 per cent did not provide a clear answer
Extra charges reported in several areas
The survey also examined the scale of alleged black marketing of LPG cylinders.
According to the findings, “36 per cent of household consumers surveyed who are experiencing LPG black marketing in their area say suppliers/middlemen are charging an extra amount of INR 100–500 per cylinder.”
The responses showed different levels of additional charges when cylinders were purchased outside the official system:
– 8 per cent said they paid up to ₹100 extra per cylinder
– 11 per cent reported paying ₹100–₹300 extra
– 8 per cent reported paying ₹300–₹500 extra
– 9 per cent said they paid more than ₹500 extra
Meanwhile, 39 per cent said there was no black market purchase in their household or neighbourhood, and 25 per cent did not give a clear answer.
The survey also said that some consumers in Delhi-NCR reported paying between ₹1,500 and ₹2,800 per cylinder in certain cases.
Supply concerns linked to global tensions
Concerns about cooking gas availability emerged amid supply chain issues arising out of the military conflict between the US-Israel alliance and Iran.
India depends heavily on imported LPG, with close to 80–85 per cent of the country’s requirement met through imports, mainly from Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
The survey report noted that the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow but critical shipping channel that lies between Iran and Oman, plays a key role in global energy supply chains. Any disruption to merchat ships’ movement through this route results in delayed shipments to import-dependent countries such as India.
Concerns over impending shortages have led to panic booking and long queues at LPG distribution agencies in several parts of the country, with households attempting to secure additional cylinders.
To discourage panic buying and hoarding, the government earlier this week increased the minimum gap between LPG refill bookings from 21 days to 25 days.
Heavy reliance on LPG for household cooking
India currently has over 310 million LPG connections, and domestic households account for nearly 60 per cent of the country’s total LPG consumption. Government welfare programmes such as the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana expanded LPG access among rural and low-income households in a bit to wean them off more polluting cooking fuels such as wood and kerosene.
On Thursday, however, the government said it was releasing 40,000 kilolitres of kerosene to be used for cooking in a bid to counter the LPG shortage. It has also asked environmental bodies to permit the use of biomass, RDF pellets, and coal as alternative fuels in the hospitality and restaurant segment for one month.
Meanwhile, piped natural gas (PNG) coverage remains limited within urban centres. The report stated that PNG connections currently reach around 13–15 million households, which means a majority of households continue to depend on LPG cylinders for cooking.
LocalCircles said that the survey findings will be shared with government authorities.
The report concluded that “profiteering by some has already distorted the market” and indicated that the survey results will be submitted to relevant government stakeholders seeking immediate intervention to address hoarding and black marketing.
