SHILLONG : In a major relief for the hospitality and tourism sector, the Meghalaya government has announced that commercial LPG allocation has been increased to 70% of the normal quota.
Director of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs, Saloni Verma, said the enhancement comes after continuous negotiations with the Government of India, which has been reviewing LPG stock positions across states.
She informed that the earlier restriction of 20% on commercial LPG, imposed from March 11 due to Middle-East tensions affecting imports, had severely impacted supply in Meghalaya.
“Now that we are entitled to 70%, the situation will definitely improve for tourism operators, dhaba owners, restaurants, and hotels,” Verma said.
Meghalaya’s daily requirement of commercial LPG stands at around 1,000 cylinders. However, during the 20% cap, the state was receiving only about 200–250 cylinders per day, leading to shortages across the hospitality sector.
The situation has started improving gradually. Between March 25 and 27, daily LPG arrivals increased to 300–350 cylinders, and in the past three days, supplies have reached around 400 cylinders as the enhanced quota begins to take effect.
Despite the challenges in commercial LPG supply, the government has assured that domestic LPG distribution remains stable. Before the crisis, daily domestic supply ranged between 6,000 and 7,000 cylinders, and even after March 11, the supply has been maintained between 5,000 and 7,000 cylinders per day.
Addressing concerns over long queues at LPG distributors, Verma clarified that this is mainly due to the mandatory e-KYC process required for new connections under the de-duplication exercise initiated by oil companies to prevent hoarding.
Between March 25 and 27 alone, Meghalaya distributed 22,094 domestic LPG cylinders, indicating steady availability for households.
She also urged the public and media to avoid spreading misinformation or panic.
“The state government under the leadership of Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma is doing its best to manage the situation,” she said.
To closely monitor the situation, both district-level and state-level LPG monitoring committees have been set up and are actively reviewing supply conditions.
The government remains hopeful that LPG availability will continue to improve in the coming days as the revised allocation fully comes into effect.