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Government Seizes 57,000 LPG Cylinders, Arrests 229 in Nationwide Anti-Hoarding Drive
LPG Crisis: India has expressed deep concern over the deaths of civilians in Lebanon. On Friday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated in an inter-ministerial briefing that the current situation is extremely worrying. Read the details of the government's comments on the LPG crisis during the inter-ministerial press conference.
In view of the prevailing political tension in the West Asian region, the government is taking stringent measures to ensure there is no black marketeering or stocking of LPG cylinders in India. According to Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum, there have been about 1.2 lakh operations carried out all across the nation against the violators who disrupt the supply chain of gas, and oil marketing firms have stepped up their inspection process.
According to Sujata Sharma, during these intensive raids, more than 57,000 gas cylinders have been seized, over 950 FIRs have been registered, and 229 people have been arrested. She added that public sector oil marketing companies (OMCs) have taken strict action, issuing over 2,100 show-cause notices, imposing heavy fines on 204 LPG distributors, and suspending 53 distributors with immediate effect. On April 9, 2026, alone, raids were conducted at over 3,800 locations across the country, resulting in the seizure of approximately 450 cylinders.
The geopolitics prevailing globally have disrupted gas supplies, but there have been no incidents reported regarding any disruptions from the distributors' side. Sujata Sharma said that to ensure proper management of resources, there has been a steep rise of around 92 percent in DAC-based deliveries, and 98 percent of deliveries have been made via the online booking system. To ensure the continuity of industrial operations, key sectors such as pharmaceuticals, food, polymers, and steel will be provided with 70 percent of their pre-March 2026 LPG share, subject to an overall limit of 0.2 TMT per day. Furthermore, approximately 106,093 metric tons of commercial LPG have been sold since March 14, 2026.
To provide relief to migrant workers and students, the supply of 5-kilogram FTL (FTL) cylinders through state governments has been doubled. Since March 23, 2026, 1.1 million such small cylinders have been sold to these vulnerable communities.
