SMEs in Kolhan face gas crunch despite increase in allocation

Industry insiders have said that several automobile ancillaries are waiting for uninterrupted supply of the LPG refills to finish pending metal work.

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The Union govt has announced a hike in the allocation of commercial LPG from existing 50% to 70%, but entrepreneurs operating small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Kolhan division are apprehensive about regular allocation of the refills. “The govt earlier raised the allocation from 20% to 50% but on ground the scarcity persisted for a wide spectrum of the small and medium industries. Regardless of the hike in the allocation, what we are getting in reality is a matter for us,” said Singhbhum Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Manav Kedia. Kedia said that war-induced gas crisis caused woes to the industry in availing the commercial gas and presently the industry is looking for help from the state holders including state govt to facilitate uninterrupted supply of gas refills. Spanning over 3,200 hectares with over 1,200 functional units, the Adityapur industrial area relies heavily on the commercial LPG for essential engineering processing, entrepreneurs said. The Industrial Stability and Reforms Organization (ISRO), an organization of the automobile ancillary units of Adityapur industrial area, said that small units are still experiencing problems in arranging LPG cylinders. “Handful of the big industries which operate in the Jamshedpur, Adityapur and Chaibasa receive supply directly from the LPG companies and they will benefit from the increase in the allocation. Most of the ancillaries which source LPG refill from the local distributors are experiencing woes as commercial LPG supply to the distributing agency is irregular,” said Samir Singh, secretary, ISRO. Industry insiders have said that several automobile ancillaries are waiting for uninterrupted supply of the LPG refills to finish pending metal work.

Prem Ranjan, regional director of Jharkhand Industrial Area Development Authority, assured to cooperate with the entrepreneurs. “If ancillary operators are not getting LPG refills on a regularly, we will hold a dialogue with them and talk to the gas supply companies to address the woes,” he said.