Minister for Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Choudhary Zulfkar Ali today asked oil companies to prepare a comprehensive proposal for opening of new LPG agencies in the State, especially in the far flung areas.The Minister said this during a meeting with the representatives of various oil companies, where they proposed 30 locations for opening of new gas agencies including 18 under Gramin Vitrak and 12 under Durga Kshetriya.Responding to the proposed plan, the Minister asked the representatives of oil companies to prepare a comprehensive proposal that would also entail detailed information for the number of gas agencies catering to the beneficiaries.Zulfkar Ali said the intent of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department is to facilitate consumers so that they get gas at the nearest place, without costing them extra for fetching it.
However, he said that there are many places, especially in far flung areas, where people have to travel a lot to get their gas refills. There are times when carriage cost exceeds the cost of refill, added the Minister.He reiterated upon the oil companies to ensure that distribution area for operation of a particular agency should not exceed above 15 km as is the guideline of oil companies. It would relieve the existing dealers from overburden, he added.Director, FCS&CA, Jammu, G S Chib, Additional Secretary FCS&CA Ramesh Kumar, Deputy Controller, Legal Metrology Department, Manoj Prabhakar, State Level Coordinator, Indian Oil Corporation, Hari Anupum, Senior Regional Manager, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited Ajay Singh and other concerned officers attended the meeting.