Misuse of domestic LPG refills is rampant across the state, with roadside eateries and some small commercial establishments using it for food preparation though they are allowed to use only the commercial cylinders. Domestic gas refills are widely used by street food vendors in the main thoroughfares, where business is brisk.The price difference between domestic and commercial gas refills is large. A 14.2kg domestic gas refill costs Rs 875.50 while a 19kg commercial refill costs Rs 1,895.50. The civil supplies authorities occasionally carry out raids and book some cases for record. Vendors allegedly grease their palms. AP has 1.57 crore domestic gas connections. A family can avail up to 12 refills per annum and gets a subsidy of Rs 10-15 per refill. The oil marketing companies will keep a track of the number of commercial connections in the state.Notably, the state government has started Deepam-2.0 to supply three domestic gas refills free of cost to the poor families at a gap of four months for each refill with the duration of a year. Chances are that these would reach the vendors unless there are strict safeguards. Eluru district civil supplies officer Williams said, “We have a total of nearly six lakh domestic gas connections, of which 4.2 lakh fall under Deepam scheme. We are planning surprise raids on fast-food joints to curb the misuse.”The civil supplies authorities maintain that they are holding a review on the number of raids and booking of cases under section 6-A being carried out on roadside eaters at periodical intervals. However, Raju, a roadside eatery owner who sells tiffins in the morning, said, “As we use domestic gas for preparing food, we are able to provide tiffins to the customers at a low cost of Rs 30 per plate, comprising idlis or bajjis. The charge will be Rs 50 per plate if we use commercial cylinders. We appeal to the government to arrange commercial gas refills at subsidized rates for small-time vendors like us.”
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