In what could ease the commercial LPG shortage for educational institutions and hotels, Food and Civil Supplies Minister K.H. Muniyappa on Monday (March 23, 2026) said that the government would be able to supply 20% of the daily needs of the hotel industry with immediate effect.

Urging the hotel industry to make some adjustments in light of the shortage of commercial cylinders, he said, “On an average, about 45,000 commercial cylinders were being used by hotels in the State. Following a discussion with oil marketing companies today (Monday), it has been decided that about 10,000 commercial cylinders can be supplied to the hotel industry.”

Current supply

The current supply of 1,000 commercial cylinders is not of much help, the Minister said. He also said that in light of these experiences, there is a need to look at sustainable energy sources, including solar and biomass, in the future.

In a statement to the Legislative Council, the Minister said that in all, the Centre has approved a supply of about 16,105 commercial cylinders daily. “About 4,200 cylinders will be supplied to educational institutions, 1,200 cylinders to public sector undertakings, and 500 to agriculture and allied activities. About 200 cylinders will be reserved for emergency uses. As many as 10,000 cylinders will be given to hotels, industrial canteens, restaurants, and dhabas, among others,” he added.

Letter to Centre

Mr. Muniyappa said that after Chief Minister Siddaramaiah wrote to the Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry, the State government has received a communication from them. A meeting with representatives of Oil Marketing Companies on the overall commercial cylinder supply was also held on Monday, he added.

The Minister further urged people to register with GAIL for supply of piped gas. “GAIL has five lakh families in its network. They need to know the demand to increase the connection for piped gas. The registration has to be done in a week’s time, and details will be shared later.”

Warning people against pressurising distributors for cylinders, he said that the booking period for cylinders in urban and rural areas continues to stay at 25 and 45 days, respectively.

Left to State and Centre: HC

Meanwhile, the High Court of Karnataka on Monday agreed with the Union government’s view that the issue of reduced supply of commercial LPG cylinders should be left to be addressed by the executives of the Centre and State government as it depends upon the sensitive international supply chain issue, which is linked to the current geopolitical crisis in West Asia.

Justice Sachin Shankar Magadum disposed of the petition filed by Bengaluru Hotels’ Association on the short supply of commercial LPG cylinders to restaurants across the State by recording the submission of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, that a division bench of the Bombay High Court last week had left it to the wisdom of the executives to address the issue of LPG supply as it is linked to international crisis and requires to be tackled through diplomatic channels.