Tag: LPG cylinders subsidy

LPG Cylinders See Biggest Hike in Six Years; Subsidy Also Increased

Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the Union government had “struck the pockets of the public with current”.

New Delhi: The price of non-subsidised liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders was sharply hiked by Rs 144.5 by state-run oil marketing companies on Wednesday.

As per Indian Oil, which supplies 30 lakh Indane cylinders daily all over India, a 14.2 kg non-subsidised LPG cylinder now costs Rs 858.5 in New Delhi, reported LiveMint.

According to the report, this was the sharpest hike in the price of non-subsidised LPG cylinder prices since January 2014, when prices had been increased by Rs 220 to cost Rs 1,241 per cylinder.

In Kolkata, cylinder prices were increased by Rs 149 to Rs 896, in Mumbai by Rs 145 to Rs 829.5 and in Chennai by Rs 147 to Rs 881.

However, the government has, to shield domestic households, also almost doubled the subsidy for domestic users from Rs 153.86 per cylinder to Rs 291.48, according to a report in The Hindu. Domestic users are entitled to get 12 cylinders of 14.2 kg each in a year at subsidised rates.

Additionally, the subsidy for the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) beneficiaries has been increased from Rs 174.86 to Rs 312.48 per cylinder. Hence, the subsidised 14.2-kg cylinders would cost Rs 567.02 for domestic users and Rs 546.02 for the PMUY beneficiaries.

In India, the price of LPG cylinders depends primarily on the international benchmark rate of LPG and the currency exchange rate between the US dollar and the rupee.

Also read: Modi’s Gas for the Poor Scheme Marred by Data Inflation, Poor Implementation

In the recently presented budget, the Centre increased the total allocation for providing subsidised fuel, especially LPG and kerosene, by 6% to Rs 40,915.21 crore. The allocation for LPG subsidy was increased to Rs 37,256.21 crore from the revised estimate of Rs 34,085.86 crore for the current year.

However, the allocation for kerosene subsidy was reduced to Rs 3,659 crore for the next year from the revised estimate of Rs 4,483 crore for the current year.

Parties react to the sharp hike

The development came a day after the Delhi assembly election results were announced

In response to the price hike, the Congress party demanded that the increase be rolled back and accused the Centre of ‘electrocuting’ household budgets.

“Modiji increased the price by Rs 144. Cooking gas price has been increased by Rs 200 in one year from 2019-2020,” said chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala.

Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala addresses a press conference at AICC in New Delhi on February 21, 2019. Credit: PTI/Arun Sharma

“While talking about current, they have struck the pockets of the public with current,” said Surjewala.

“We demand this, on behalf of the Indian National Congress, that as the price of the international crude oil has fallen, why should there be such surreptitious and uncalled for increase in the price of gas cylinder. This increase in the price should immediately be rolled back,” he said.

The Congress party’s women wing has also decided to protest the price hike.

Trinamool Congress and the CPI(M) too attacked the Union government for the increase in prices and further alleged that the move was a vengeful response to the party’s poor performance in the recently concluded Delhi assembly elections

Also read: The Poor Got LPG Cylinders Under Modi’s Scheme But They Can’t Afford Gas Refills

“The BJP is an anti-people party and its decisions and policies are a reflection of that. Despite its series of defeats in several Assembly polls, they are yet to learn their lessons,” TMC secretary-general Partha Chatterjee said.

CPI(M) legislative party leader Sujan Chakraborty said, “They are trying to take revenge for the defeat in the Delhi assembly polls. Just because people did not vote in BJP’s favour, they are punishing them by increasing the LPG price”.

BSP chief Mayawati too called the price hike a “cruel decision” against the poor.

BJP state chief Dilip Ghosh, however, contended that the hike was unrelated to the recent polls and that “LPG prices increase and decrease periodically”.