Cabinet hikes subsidised lPG cap from nine to 12 cylinders a year
Even as the aam aadmi made futile efforts for months demanding removal of the cap on subsidised lPG, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s similar insistence was promptly met by the Centre on Thursday when the Cabinet decided to increase the quota of subsidised lPG per household from nine to 12 cylinders a year.
While the Congress welcomed the Government’s pre-poll bonanza, in a competitive populist response, Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav went to the extent of demanding free lPG cylinders for the poor.
While the Government raised the quota of subsidised cooking gas from 9 to 12 cylinders per household in a year, it delinked the provision of Aadhaar-based subsidy.
The Direct Benefit Transfer for lPG (DBTl) scheme, under which consumers in 289 districts in 18 States got cash of Rs 435 in their bank accounts so that they could buy cooking gas at market rate, has been put on hold because many complained that they were not getting the benefit in the absence of either an Aadhaar card or a bank account linked Aadhaar. DBTl was touted by the UPA Government as a ‘game-changer’, as it was claimed to plug diversions and help subsidy reach intended beneficiaries.
“There were certain issues on implementation on the ground because at places, the seeding between Aadhaar number and bank account was not completed. Therefore, to ensure that customers are not at inconvenience in the interim, it has been decided that a committee will be constituted which will review only the implementation of DBTl. Pending the review, consumers will get subsidised cylinders as they were getting earlier,” Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily said.
After the suspension, the Government will pay subsidy to oil companies as was the practice before and consumers will get subsidised cooking gas from them. “It is not an admission of failure on the part of the scheme and we are quite proud and happy that this programme has gone on very well. Even if there is a marginal error, we need to correct it. We don’t want to proceed further; so we have to go back on the reforms measure,” Moily said.
Announcing the decision taken by the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs, Moily said raising the quota of subsidised lPG cylinders to 12 from nine at present, will cost Rs 5,000 crore in additional subsidy annually.At the AICC session this month, Rahul had demanded raising the lPG cap and told PM Manmohan Singh that “nine cylinders are not enough.”
Every household will now get one cylinder extra, on top of the quota of 9 cylinders, in February and March in the current financial year. From the next fiscal beginning April, they will be entitled to 12 cylinders -- one per month -- at subsidised rates. Currently, a subsidised lPG cylinder costs Rs 414 in Delhi, while the market price, which consumers pay for any demand beyond the quota, comes to Rs 1,241.
Reacting to the Centre’s decision of raising the quota of subsidised lPG to 12 cylinders per year, SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav said the limit should be raised to 24 and poor should get it free. “That is not a big deal...The number should be 24 and not 12 and poor should get it free,” Yadav said when asked to react on the Cabinet’s decision.
POPUlISM AT WORK
While the Congress welcomed the Government’s pre-poll bonanza, in a competitive populist response, Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav went to the extent of demanding free lPG cylinders for the poor
While the Government raised the quota of subsidised cooking gas from 9 to 12 cylinders per household in a year, it delinked the provision of Aadhaar-based subsidy
The Direct Benefit Transfer for lPG (DBTl) scheme was touted by the UPA Govt as a ‘game-changer’, as it was claimed to plug diversions and help subsidy reach intended beneficiaries