The Socio-Ecological Effects of LPG Price Hikes

India’s rural household faces various challenges regarding the adoption of LPG as a cooking fuel, despite government initiatives to promote its use. Most important barrier is “high cost of LPG cylinders”. Thus, the reliance increases on the solid cooking fuels like wood and coal. The impact of high cost of LPG is not limited to usage of solid fuels, but it has implications for socio-ecological well-being.

Challenges with Solid Cooking Fuels: 

• High refill costs, complicated application processes, lack of doorstep delivery, and ineffective grievance redressal mechanisms are significant challenges.
• Gender norms, systemic factors, and limited awareness about the benefits of LPG worsen these issues.
• Ease of access to fuel sources determines the choice of cooking fuel.
• Most households are unfamiliar with the concept of household air pollution.

Socio-ecological effects 

• Health issues: Many rural households in India face barriers to adopting LPG due to its high cost, leading to around 750 million people relying on solid cooking fuels like wood, dung, coal, and charcoal. However, these fuels pose health risks and have socio-economic and environmental impacts.
• Economic constraints: Despite having LPG connections, many households still resort to using fuelwood due to economic constraints.
• Socio-ecological crises: The rising price of LPG could lead to socio-ecological crises in areas where alternatives to fuelwood are scarce.
• Climate Change: Solid fuel combustion releases greenhouse gases and particulate matter, contributing to climate change and local air pollution, exacerbating environmental challenges.
• Social Inequity: LPG price hikes disproportionately affect marginalized communities and exacerbate social inequalities, as they may lack the financial resources to cope with increased fuel costs.
• Sustainability Challenges: LPG price hikes may hinder efforts to promote clean cooking solutions and achieve sustainability goals, undermining progress towards environmental conservation and public health improvement.
• Equity Perspective: LPG price hikes may exacerbate disparities in access to clean cooking fuels, particularly impacting women and economically weaker sections of society.

Recommended Measures: 

• Conduct awareness campaigns at household and community levels to educate people about the health risks of using biomass fuels and the benefits of switching to LPG. These campaigns should involve self-help groups and other social networks.
• Explore flexible payment options, such as installment payments for LPG cylinders, through existing self-help group networks and local banking systems.
• Take urgent action to make LPG more affordable for deserving sections of society, both in rural and urban areas.
• Consider electric and solar cooking as potential transitionary steps in the journey towards cleaner cooking solutions.Top of Form