Bangalore Hotels’ Association has sought the court’s intervention on the issue of drastic restriction on commercial supply of LPG cylinders. | Photo credit: SUDHAKARA JAIN
The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday (March 17) ordered the state and Union governments to provide details of commercial liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinder stocks while adjourning further hearing to March 23 on a petition seeking uninterrupted supply of LPG to restaurants in Bengaluru city.
Justice Sachin Shankar Magadum passed the order on a petition filed by the Bangalore Hotels’ Association, which sought the court’s intervention on the issue of drastic curbs on commercial supply of LPG cylinders that threatened to shut down hundreds of small and large restaurants.
Bombay High Court
Meanwhile, a lawyer representing the central government told the court that the petition seeking the court’s intervention in the Bombay High Court was disposed of by recording the statement of the Solicitor General of India, who requested that the Bombay High Court bench leave the issue for the central and state governments to resolve based on the current geopolitical issue in West Asia.
However, advocate Satish K. pointed out before the petitioner that according to state records, an average of 44,000 commercial LPG cylinders were distributed across the state on a daily basis before the crisis broke out.
Only 1000 cylinders
Now, the state government in its March 16 order, citing various Centre’s communications, has directed the three oil marketing companies to limit the supply of commercial LPG cylinders to just 7,000 per day, of which only 1,000 cylinders have been earmarked for restaurants, dhabas, hotels and industrial canteens, which is less than 5% of the normal requirement, the petition said.
Mr. Satish further pointed out that there are about 40,000 hotels in Bengaluru alone which employ more than six million people and the closure of the hotels would affect their livelihood.
80% stock
Meanwhile, the petition also noted that the central government, in its Natural Gas (Supply Regulation) 2026, announced on March 9, directed that “all City Gas Distribution (CGD) entities shall ensure that industrial and commercial consumers supplied through their networks receive 80% of their average gas consumption for the last six months subject to operational availability.”
The petitioners’ association warned of a catastrophic impact on the perishable goods supply chain as hotels in Bengaluru consume an estimated 12 million liters of milk per day along with huge quantities of meat, vegetables and fruits, all of which now face a complete loss of demand if all restaurants are shut down due to LPG shortages.
Published – 17 March 2026 22:15 IST
