New Delhi:
Now, you will not have to take the day off or leave office early to get an LPG cylinder.
The government has launched the Preferred Time LPG delivery scheme through which customers can get LPG refills at any time of the day by paying between Rs 20 to Rs 50.
The amount payment will vary depending on the time and day of the week. The customer would be charged Rs 50 for deliveries sought before 8 am or between 6 pm and 8 pm on any day of the week in metro cities, and Rs 25 for any time between 8 am and 6 pm.
Customers in other cities and towns would be charged Rs 40 and Rs 20 respectively.
On weekends (Saturday/Sunday), Rs 25 would be charged extra for deliveries sought between 8 am and 6 pm in metro towns, and Rs 20 in other cities.
Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said while launching the scheme that it was, "completely optional and customers who do not opt for it will continue to get their refills as per the current schedule."
Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Jitin Prasada said the service was being launched first in Delhi and the adjoining towns of Gurgaon, Noida, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Sonepat, besides Bengaluru and Pune.
It would be extended to Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad later this month, and the rest of the country would be covered under the scheme by the end of this year.
LPG distributors failing to deliver the LPG gas refill at a designated time or day will have to pay Rs 20 as penalty to the customer, besides forgoing the premium service fee.
If a customer missed the delivery on the scheduled day of delivery, it would be made during the same time band on the next day.
"There will be no jumping of queue because of this extra payment. The schedule for normal delivery will be maintained and this scheme is to help customers get that delivery on their preferred time and day," he said.
"Customers who wish to avail of this facility must register through a stipulated format available with the distributors or by logging into websites of the respective oil companies," he said.
The websites are www.indane.co.in for customers of Indane Gas of Indian Oil Corp, www.ebharatgas.com for Bharat Gas of Bharat Petroleum Corp, and www.hindustanpetroleum.com for HP Gas of Hindustan Petroleum Corp.
At present, the deliveries are guided by routine scheduling by LPG distributors on a day-to-day basis, with no definite time given.
Deora said the government currently subsidises domestic LPG by over Rs 200 per cylinder, and the new initiative is aimed at improving customer service.