Delhi LPG racket exposed: Cylinders hoarded, sold illegally, gas siphoned

An undercover investigation has exposed a widespread LPG black market in Delhi, where cylinders are hoarded, sold without booking slips and even partially emptied before delivery, raising serious concerns over supply diversion, consumer exploitation and safety risks.

An undercover investigation has exposed a thriving illegal LPG cylinder trade operating across several parts of Delhi, where gas cylinders are being hoarded, sold without booking slips and even tampered with before reaching consumers.

The probe found that black-market dealers were storing dozens of cylinders in residential houses, selling them at inflated prices and siphoning off small quantities of gas from each cylinder before delivery. The revelations come amid rising consumer anxiety over cooking gas availability following the Gulf crisis and changes in delivery timelines.

The investigation comes at a time when concerns over LPG supply have been mounting among households and commercial establishments.

On March 11, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas announced that the minimum delivery period for domestic LPG cylinders would increase from 21 days to 25 days. The government also maintained the existing annual cap of 15 cylinders per household.

Officials described the decision as a temporary step to manage demand during supply concerns. The government has maintained that there is no actual shortage of LPG or fuel oil.

However, reports of long queues outside gas agencies and restaurants shutting down due to the lack of commercial cylinders have begun emerging from several metropolitan cities.