Gandhinagar, March 11 Amid disruptions caused by a military conflict in West Asia, the Gujarat Government has formed a committee to coordinate with the Centre to ensure adequate supplies of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), ensuring that household gas availability is not affected.
State minister Jitu Vaghani said on Wednesday that the panel has been constituted under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary to ensure that citizens do not face any shortage of LNG.
"The committee, formed under the guidance of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, will coordinate with the Centre and continuously review the situation to ensure an adequate gas supply," Vaghani told reporters in Gandhinagar on the sidelines of the assembly session.
He said the state government will ensure that household gas supply is not affected, adding that the Centre has also decided not to increase the prices of domestic PNG and CNG.
Seeking to allay supply concerns, Vaghani stressed that the supply of cooking gas cylinders will not be disrupted.
He said the state and Central governments are working to secure about 80 per cent of the supply of commercial gas cylinders.
"The Union government has started placing advance orders for gas cargoes from West Africa and the US instead of relying solely on Middle Eastern nations. The new supplies are expected to start arriving in India shortly," he added.
Calling the situation an international crisis, Vaghani said the state and Central governments have taken necessary measures to prevent any disruption in gas supply.
He urged Gujarat citizens not to believe rumours about gas shortages and to avoid hoarding.
Notably, restaurants, street food vendors and catering businesses across the country are scrambling for alternatives as a shortage of commercial LPG cylinders begins to disrupt kitchens amid the widening conflict in West Asia. The government is prioritizing domestic cooking gas supply to households as the war disrupted global fuel lifelines.