In a major move that will impact urban and semi-urban households across India, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas on Monday issued a landmark notification amending the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Regulation of Supply and Distribution) Order, 2000.The amendment, which came into force immediately upon its publication in the Official Gazette, fills a long-standing loophole that allowed households to simultaneously hold both a domestic LPG cylinder connection and a Piped Natural Gas (PNG) connection — effectively drawing dual benefits from the country’s subsidised cooking gas infrastructure.The notification introduces a clear, time-bound and unambiguous rule — any household that already has a domestic LPG connection and subsequently obtains a PNG connection must, within 30 days, either formally apply for termination of the LPG connection or obtain a transfer voucher for a future LPG connection in a non-PNG area. The transfer voucher will be beneficial for transferable employees, migrant households, tenants, students and others.Further, with immediate effect from the date of obtaining the PNG connection, such households will no longer be able to get a refill domestic LPG cylinder. The amendment, brought amid concerns over natural gas shortages linked to the ongoing West Asia conflict is legally binding. It substitutes the existing sub-clause (5) of Clause 3 of the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Regulation of Supply and Distribution) Order, 2000 with a new provision.In essence, the revised rule states that any person or household holding a domestic LPG connection and subsequently obtaining a PNG connection is prohibited from taking LPG refills from the date of obtaining the PNG connection and must, within 30 days, either apply for termination of the LPG connection or obtain a transfer voucher for future use in a non-PNG area.The rule effectively means that if a household is connected to PNG and also has an LPG cylinder registered in its name, the cylinder can no longer be refilled. They will have 30 days from the date of activation of their PNG connection to either permanently close their LPG account or obtain a transfer voucher.The 30-day window has been provided to give households adequate time to make an informed decision and complete the necessary paperwork — either through the LPG distributor for termination or through the concerned oil marketing company for obtaining a transfer voucher.