The approval came as a major relief for the consumers across the country, even as many political observers said the UPA’s move is a well-calculated political decision considering the upcoming Lok Sabha election in 2014.
It was learnt that the quota has been increased following the recommendation from the Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi. In the All India Congress Committee (AICC) meeting, which was held on 17 January, Rahul expressed his opinion to raise the cap from nine to 12 cylinders per household. 13 days after Rahul’s nudge, the cap got a green signal on Thursday.
Each household will get one extra cylinder, on top of the quota of nine cylinders, in February and March. From April onward, they will be entitled for 12 cylinders (annually) at the subsidised rates.
Union minister for petroleum and natural gas, M Veerappa Moily, said, ‘The CCPA has decided to allow households to get one subsidised LPG cylinder a month from February. Increasing the limit to 12 units per year will cost Rs 5,000 crore to the government. The government already incurs the burden of nearly Rs 46,000 crore per annum as LPG subsidy.’ Moily said, ‘With the increased cap, 97 per cent of LPG consumers would be covered by subsidised LPG. The Aadhaar-linked LPG subsidy transfer has been put on hold,’ he said.
Sources said the decision to put the Aadhaar-linked LPG subsidy on hold was taken after differences of opinion cropped up within the Congress party as many consumers did not either have the Aadhaar number or bank accounts linked to the Aadhaar number.
While commenting on the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme for LPG, the minister said, ‘The DBT scheme for LPG, covering consumers in 289 districts in 18 states, for getting subsidised amount in consumer bank accounts, has been put on hold.’ ‘We were receiving complaints about implementation of the scheme and a committee has been formed to look into the matter.’
It was learnt that the quota has been increased following the recommendation from the Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi. In the All India Congress Committee (AICC) meeting, which was held on 17 January, Rahul expressed his opinion to raise the cap from nine to 12 cylinders per household. 13 days after Rahul’s nudge, the cap got a green signal on Thursday.
Each household will get one extra cylinder, on top of the quota of nine cylinders, in February and March. From April onward, they will be entitled for 12 cylinders (annually) at the subsidised rates.
Union minister for petroleum and natural gas, M Veerappa Moily, said, ‘The CCPA has decided to allow households to get one subsidised LPG cylinder a month from February. Increasing the limit to 12 units per year will cost Rs 5,000 crore to the government. The government already incurs the burden of nearly Rs 46,000 crore per annum as LPG subsidy.’ Moily said, ‘With the increased cap, 97 per cent of LPG consumers would be covered by subsidised LPG. The Aadhaar-linked LPG subsidy transfer has been put on hold,’ he said.
Sources said the decision to put the Aadhaar-linked LPG subsidy on hold was taken after differences of opinion cropped up within the Congress party as many consumers did not either have the Aadhaar number or bank accounts linked to the Aadhaar number.
While commenting on the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme for LPG, the minister said, ‘The DBT scheme for LPG, covering consumers in 289 districts in 18 states, for getting subsidised amount in consumer bank accounts, has been put on hold.’ ‘We were receiving complaints about implementation of the scheme and a committee has been formed to look into the matter.’