SHILLONG: In a major move to calm public anxiety and streamline energy distribution, the Meghalaya government’s Food and Civil Supplies department, alongside major Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs), has confirmed that the state holds a robust and uninterrupted supply of petrol, diesel, and LPG.
Despite ongoing geopolitical tensions in West Asia, officials have assured citizens that the local supply chain remains insulated from global shocks, primarily due to the strategic presence of four major refineries within the Northeast region that fulfill nearly 70% of the state’s LPG requirements.
During a high-level briefing, Swati Mudoi, the State Level Coordinator for OMCs in Meghalaya, revealed that the state’s infrastructure is well-equipped with 334 retail outlets, including 205 managed by IOCL, 72 by HPCL, and 43 by BPCL, along with 14 private stations. Currently, the state maintains a strategic buffer of 25 days for petrol and 46 days for diesel.
Officials have strongly urged the public to refrain from “panic booking” or hoarding, as current stock levels are more than adequate to meet daily demand across all districts.
The spotlight of the briefing, however, was a significant administrative crackdown on LPG distributors. Amarjyoti Bordoloi, Chief General Manager of IndianOil (AOD), announced that show-cause notices have been issued to three distributors in Meghalaya, while operations for seven others across the Northeast have been suspended. These actions follow a rigorous inspection of delivery protocols, specifically regarding the Delivery Authentication Code (DAC).
According to Bordoloi, distributors must maintain a 90% to 95% DAC confirmation rate; any failure to provide this digital proof of delivery is being treated as a “diversion” to the black market, triggering strict penalties under the Marketing Discipline Guidelines and the Essential Commodities Act of 1955.
To ensure transparency, the government has conducted 319 inspections since last month. The digital transformation of the sector is showing rapid progress, with 83% of bookings now made online, a sharp rise from 68% just two months ago. While a minor five-day backlog exists for the 3.7 lakh consumers in the state, officials confirmed that over 4,100 refills are being delivered daily. Consumers are being reminded that the eKYC process is mandatory—especially for PMUY (Ujjwala) beneficiaries and those who haven’t booked a cylinder in nine months—to prevent their accounts from being blocked by the automated system.
Addressing the needs of students and migrant workers, the government is rolling out 5,000 Free Trade LPG (FTL) cylinders of 5kg each per month, accessible through simple identity verification.
Furthermore, commercial entities like hospitals, hostels, and schools are being prioritized with a guaranteed 70% of their historical consumption volume through formal connections.
As the state moves toward even greater stability with the upcoming Ri-Bhoi bottling plant, authorities are calling on the public to ignore rumors and cooperate with the digital DAC system to ensure a secure, fair, and transparent distribution of energy resources.
