Union Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily has made it clear that the Centre has no plan to increase the quota of subsidised lPG cylinders per consumer from the present nine to 12 a year.
Moily told newspersons at Kochi Airport on Saturday that there was no proposal before the Union Government to increase the quota of subsidised lPG cylinders. The Minister’s explanation has put to rest speculations in this regard that the Centre may increase the lPG cap for domestic consumers in view of the coming lok Sabha election.
The Union Minister’s statement came within minutes of the Kerala Government making a request to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who was on a visit to the State, to increase the lPG cylinder quota to 12. Singh, against whom black waves were waved by Yuva Morcha workers at Thiruvananthapuram over the lPG price hike, had promised to look into the matter.
Responding to questions from newsmen, Moily said that the recent hike in lPG price need not cause worries for the people. “Almost 90 per cent of the people who deserve subsidy (for cooking gas) are getting it, practically. That means only ten per cent are left out. Therefore such things need not cause much worries,” he said.
Asked whether the lPG price hike could affect the Congress’s poll prospects, Moily said he did not believe so as the people were aware of the situation that necessitated it. The price of lPG was hiked last Wednesday by Rs 220 for domestic consumers and Rs 350 for commercial users per cylinder.
Moily answered in the negative to a query on whether the Centre would consider taking back the authority to determine the prices of petroleum products. The prices of petroleum products were being determined outside the country, he said, adding that price of lPG could come down when domestic production went up.
Responding to Moily’s statement, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said that the State Congress wanted the quota of lPG cylinders to go up from the present nine to 12. This had been conveyed to the party high command, he said. Congress leaders pointed out that Union Finance Minister had recently hinted at the possibility of an increase in the subsidised lPG quota.
Meanwhile, the distribution of cooking gas which had gone haywire in Kerala following confusions caused by Wednesday’s price hike and the State Government’s response to it, was limping back to normal on Saturday. Gas agents and sources at the IOC said that it would take another week for the supply system to return to total normalcy.
At a ceremony of dedicating the Petronet lNG Terminal at Puthuvype off Kochi on Saturday, Chief Minister Chandy requested the Prime Minister to reconsider the decision to allow the oil companies to fix prices of petroleum products.
“Gas is not a commodity used by the rich alone anymore. It is now the fuel of ordinary people also. In such a situation, the Central Government should re-examine whether the authority to fix fuel price should be left to the oil companies, especially when the prices are being hiked frequently,” Chandy said.