Parliament Question: LPG Distribution in Tamil Nadu

LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3017 TO BE ANSWERED ON 06th August, 2026 LPG Distribution in Tamil Nadu 3017. Shri Mani A: प(cid:282)े ो(cid:871)लयम एव ं(cid:292)ाकृ(cid:467)तक गसै म(cid:287)ं ी Will the Minister of PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government has undertaken measures to strengthen the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) distribution network in Tamil Nadu, particularly in Dharmapuri Parliamentary Constituency, to ensure timely and convenient access to domestic LPG for all households, if so, the details thereof; (b) the number of LPG distributors, delivery points and LPG consumers in Dharmapuri Parliamentary Constituency and the steps taken to expand the distribution infrastructure during the last three years; (c) whether the Government proposes to establish additional LPG distributorships or strengthen delivery logistics in rural and remote areas of Dharmapuri to improve last-mile service delivery, if so, the details thereof; and (d) the measures taken to promote consumer safety, digital booking, doorstep delivery and timely refill supply and to further enhance LPG accessibility and service quality across Tamil Nadu including Dharmapuri Parliamentary Constituency? ANSWER प(cid:282)े ो(cid:871)लयम एव ं(cid:292)ाकृ(cid:467)तक गसै मं(cid:287)ालय म(cid:581) रा(cid:207)यम(cid:287)ं ी ((cid:302)ी सुरेश गोपी) MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS (SHRI SURESH GOPI) (a) to (d): Appointment of LPG distributorships by the Public Sector Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) is a continuous process and locations for setting up of LPG distributorships are identified and advertised under Unified Selection Guidelines 2016. As on 01.07.2026, there are a total of 25,611 LPG distributorships of PSU OMCs across the country, including 1658 in state of Tamil Nadu, out of which 17,685 distributorships are serving rural areas. These are served through 214 LPG bottling plants of Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) located across the country. In order to improve access of LPG in rural and remote areas, PSU OMCs have commissioned 8045 distributorships, during 01.04.2016 to 30.06.2026 across the country, out of which 7452 (i.e. 93 %) are catering to rural areas. All distributors, except Durgam Kshetriya Vitraks, are mandated to make home delivery of LPG cylinders in their area of operation.Dharmapuri Parliamentary Constituency covers Dharmapuri and Salem districts and is served by a total of 110 LPG distributors of Public Sector Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs), out of which 02 LPG distributorship have been commissioned during last 3 Financial Years. As on 01.07.2026, there were about total 15.80 lakh domestic LPG consumers in these two districts. To further improve last-mile delivery in remote and underserved habitations, OMCs have taken several measures, including commissioning of rural and remote-area distributorships, appointment of Common Service Center - Village Level Entrepreneur (CSC VLEs), etc. OMCs have 162 numbers of CSC VLEs in these aforesaid 02 districts to ensure the last mile availability of LPG. To ensure the timely availability of LPG refills, all domestic LPG consumers can book a refill by various methods including Interactive Voice Response System(IVRS), Short Message Service(SMS), Whatsapp, calling directly on the phone of distributor, e-commerce platforms, OMC mobile applications, OMCs web-portals etc. These different options provide enhanced user accessibility for seamless and hassle-free booking of LPG refills. The average refill delivery time in Tamil Nadu is 1.6 days as of 01.08.2026. To improve awareness amongst LPG consumers, a Basic Safety campaign was organised during 2024-2025 across the country under the theme “Khushiyan Ab Teen Guna” with the objective of reaching the doorsteps of domestic LPG customers. The campaign was designed to educate consumers on the safe usage of LPG, complemented by extensive mass awareness initiatives through print and electronic media, on-site safety checks at customer premises, and the replacement of Suraksha hoses. The campaign achieved significant progress with over 12.12 crore free basic safety checks conducted at customer premises without any cost to consumer including 82.42 lakh in state of Tamil Nadu and more than 4.65 crore LPG hoses replaced at discounted rates including 41 lakh in state of Tamil Nadu. Details of Basic Safety checks and hose replacement in the districts of Dharmapuri & Salem, Tamil Nadu is given as below: No. of Basic Suraksha Hose State District Name Safety Checks Replaced Done Tamil Nadu DHARMAPURI 1,56,441 1,33,244 Tamil Nadu SALEM 4,14,248 2,60,245 Source: IOCL on behalf of PSU OMCs ******