When a Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinder was delivered to the residence of Mahesh Kumar in Sharadadevi Nagar here recently, he paid the delivery boy about Rs. 20 over and above the bill amount of Rs. 517.5. But this was not enough the boy, who demanded Rs. 50 as delivery charge.
The delivery boy relented only after Mr. Mahesh cited the rule book, which does not allow distributors of public sector oil companies to collect LPG cylinder delivery charges if the consumer’s house is within a distance of 5 km.
Though many households pay a nominal tip of Rs. 20 or so to the delivery boy, many say that of late, a few delivery boys have been rudely demanding as much as Rs. 50.
“I don’t mind paying them a nominal tip for lifting the heavy cylinder and keeping it in the kitchen. But I can’t pay a hefty amount,” said a housewife who did not wish to be identified. Though filled with 14.2 kg of LPG, the gross weight of a cylinder is around 30 kg. Many consumers cough up the sum demanded by the delivery boys so that they do not delay the delivery next time.
However, the Deputy Director of the Food and Civil Supplies Department, Rameshwarappa, clarified that LPG distributors and delivery boys cannot demand delivery charges if the consumer’s house is within a 5-km radius. If the cylinder has to be delivered to a destination beyond 5 km, the delivery boy can collect a tip of Rs. 1.6 for every km, he said. “No extra charges can be collected even if the house is in the top floor,” Mr. Rameshwarappa said.
Criminal offence
Warning that it was a “criminal offence under the Essential Commodities Act” to collect unreasonable tips from consumers, Mr. Rameshwarappa said the department could take up a case against the distributor is the consumer lodges a complaint against the delivery boy. The area manager of Indane LPG, Mysuru, said distributors are given Rs .45 for every cylinder as operational costs, and this includes the delivery charges.
But Mehul Patel, owner of Amardeep Gas Agency, said the distributors have to manage the rental of their office space, godown, staff salary, vehicle maintenance and fuel, besides the delivery of cylinder, using this money. “The delivery cost given for each cylinder is only Rs. 16,” he clarified.
TIP TROUBLE
LPG distributors receive Rs. 45 per cylinder as operational costs, including delivery
Distributors claim they are given only Rs. 16 per cylinder exclusively for delivery
Delivery boys say they are paid a measly sum
Mysuru city has around 3.5 lakh LPG consumers registered with 30 distributors of Indane, Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum
