AGP demands inquiry into LPG scarcity in North East

"We have sent a memorandum to President Pratibha Patil, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union Petroleum Minister S Jaipal Reddy asking for a high level inquiry into the LPG shortage in Assam and North East in recent months," AGP chief Prafulla Kumar Mahanta told reporters here.

The North Eastern region has been reeling under severe scarcity of LPG cylinders with waiting list at some centres stretching to over a month.

Mahanta also accused the Tarun Gogoi-led state government of economic mismanagement and distorting the real picture of Assam's financial health.

"Gogoi claims credit for the fact that the Planning Commission has increased allocation for Assam to Rs 10,500 crore in 2012-13 from Rs 9,000 crore in 2011-12. However, states like Punjab and Chhattisgarh whose population are less than Assam have secured much bigger allocations than us," he said.

He alleged that between April-February of last fiscal the state government could utilise only 43 per cent of the planned allocation.

Gogoi talks of development, while the fact is that 70 per cent of Assam's population survive on an income of less than Rs 20 per day, he added.