The government is likely to launch a scheme next month to give new domestic liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) connections free to below poverty line (BPL) families — the biggest pro-poor scheme of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) in its second term.
At present, a consumer has to shell out Rs 1,250 as security deposit to get a new LPG connection and Rs 150 more for pressure regulator. This Rs 1,400 needed for getting a new connection will be subsidised by the government.
“About Rs 490 crore would be provisioned in the Budget to subsidise new LPG connections for BPL families. We hope to get Cabinet approval (for the scheme) in coming weeks and are targeting the launch of the scheme on October 2 (Gandhi Jayanti),” a top petroleum ministry official said.
A brainchild of Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Jitin Prasada, the LPG subsidy plan would be the biggest scheme for the poor in the second stint of Congress-led UPA. All the previous big draws, including employment guarantee scheme and farm loan waiver were launched in the government’s first term.
The official said free LPG connections would be given to 3.5 million BPL families every year.
The Budgetary requirement to implement the scheme works out to around Rs 490 crore.
The scheme would be operated through public sector oil marketing companies — Indian Oil Corp, Bharat Petroleum Corp and Hindustan Petroleum Corp.
The official said the petroleum ministry’s Vision 2015 was to extend the usage of LPG for cooking purpose in rural/under served areas so that standard of life in rural areas improved and kerosene/firewood was replaced by the clean fuel.
About 55 million new LPG connections are proposed to be released till 2015 to reach 1.6 million customers, with most of the new connections being released in rural areas.
Of about 10 million connections to be released each year, it is expected that the number of BPL families will be an average of around 3.5 million every year.
