RAWALPINDI, Jan 8: The City District Government Rawalpindi (CDGR) plans to move against unauthorised Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and oil agencies in the district.

District Coordination Officer (DCO) Imdadullah Bosal has directed the Civil Defence Department to launch crackdown against illegal LPG decanting outlets.

Sources said the directive was issued after the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) wrote letters to DCOs across the country to stop illegal LPG decanting outlets to ensure safety of citizens.

They said more than 1,000 LPG decanting outlets were running in densely populated areas of Rawalpindi district. The shop owners involved in decanting were selling LPG in the absence of required techniques and safety measures.

Sources said these outlets not only risked lives and property of people but also violate their licences as they are only allowed to sell LPG cylinders. “The shop owners sell gas in the open on kilogram basis to make more money,” sources said. After receiving letter from Ogra, the DCO ordered crackdown against the illegal business in the district and asked the licence-holders to ensure minimum safety measures in and around their outlets.

Civil Defence Chief Instructor Talib Hussain said the department has started a survey of the district to detect illegal operation of decanting. He said the crackdown would be launched soon. “We have written letters to 13 oil companies operating in the district, requesting them to provide list of their authorised LPG distributors and ensure safety requirements in and around their outlets.”

He said out of 400 distributors, 100 were licence-holders, and the rest were running businesses illegally.

Mr Hussain said the field staff of Civil Defence also reported presence of a large number of LPG agencies involved in decanting in the limits of different police stations.

He said the police were not taking action against them despite repeated complaints. He said the department has requested the SPs Rawal and Potohar towns to ask SHOs register cases against the illegal business in their limits.