MARGAO: In a joint operation, officials of Civil Supplies department seized a rickshaw which was transporting domestic and commercial LPG cylinders in Cuncolim.
The seizure was effected following a complaint that the vehicle was involved in authorised sale of LGP cylinders in the Cuncolim Industrial estate and Balli village.
What’s interesting to note is that the vehicle driver informed that the cylinders were filled in Loutolim village and were being distributed in Cuncolim area.
Meanwhile, GOACAN coordinator Roland Martins have called for an Anti-Corruption Bureau-headed flying squad to stop the diversion of domestic LPG cylinders. The organisation has called for urgent steps from Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar to set up a permanent flying squad under the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) of the Vigilance Department to track down and stop the diversion of domestic LPG cylinders for commercial use. “We are convinced that a squad headed by the ACB working in tandem with the Civil Supplies Department and public sector petroleum companies is the way ahead. The squad will be able to facilitate swift co-ordination between State & Central agencies, effectively implement various Acts & Rules and take action on the complaints of the harassed LPG consumers in Goa”, Martins added.
He said the seizure of the 10 cylinders from a Gas Agency in Raia being transported in a Margao-based vehicle is only a tip of the iceberg where in hundreds of domestic LPG cylinders are being systematically diverted for commercial use on a daily basis. Such diversion of domestic cylinders is not only creating a loss to the public exchequer but also putting a tax burden on ordinary consumers who have to pay for the subsidised cylinders being used by profit-making commercial establishments, he added.
