The government is planning to subsidise new domestic LPG connection to families living below poverty line (BPL), Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Jitin Prasada said today.
At present, a consumer has to shell out Rs 1,250 as security deposit for getting a new LPG connection and another Rs 150 for pressure regulator.
"The Planning Commission has agreed to provide half of (this) Rs 1,400 (from Plan funds)," he told reporters here.
The modalities of who should bear the remaining Rs 700 are being worked out, he said but did not give a timeframe by when the new scheme would be launched.
"We propose to give LPG connections to 35 lakh BPL families," he said.
The budgetary requirement for implementing the scheme would work out to around Rs 490 crore.
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The Plan panel has given approval to this scheme and agreed to provide 50 per cent of the cost from the Plan funds.
The scheme would be operated through public sector oOil marketing companies - Indian Oil Corp, Bharat Petroleum Corp and Hindustan Petroleum Corp.
Prasada said his ministry's Vision 2015 is to extend the usage of LPG for cooking purpose in rural/ under served areas so that standard of life in rural areas improves and kerosene/fire-wood is replaced by the clean fuel.
About 5.5 crore new LPG connections are proposed to be released till 2015 to reach 16 crore customers with most of the new connections being released in rural areas.
Of about 1 crore connections to be released each year, it is expected that number of BPL families will be on an average around 35 lakh every year.