Oilmen show the way, give up LPG subsidy: More than 100 employees of the three state-run fuel refining and marketing companies have voluntarily given up subsidy on cooking gas and have pledged to buy only non-subsidised refills at double the cost.According to an oil ministry statement, petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan congratulated the employees and described their move as a bold beginning. In a letter to the employees, the minister said such action would free up connections for the rural areas. This will help in expanding LPG coverage in rural areas and will be a gift of good health to women and children who are exposed to high indoor pollution by use of dirty fuels, the statement said.In the present format, cooking gas subsidy - currently pegged at Rs 450 on each cylinder - is enjoyed by consumers from all economic strata of society. Subsequent governments had been struggling to limit it to the needy but failed to do much for fear of adverse political fallout.During the initial period of S Jaipal Reddys tenure as the oil minister in the UPA-2 government, the ministry had - among other steps - drawn up a plan to use economic criteria to limit subsidy benefits. Under this plan, any household with a certain income level, ownership of a car or house would have gone out of the subsidy net. But the plan was torpedoed my Mamta Banerjee whose Trinamool was part of the government. Subsequently though, the government managed to cap the number of subsidised cylinders to six a year, which was later raised to nine. The limit was raised to 12 refills a year just before the elections, which the ministry later described as a mistake. Taking a cue from the oilmen, the ministry would soon provide a facility at their dealerships for the well-healed consumers to surrender subsidy. This could be done by submitting a written request to the distributors . The option would be made available through the web also shortly.It demonstrates care and concern for the less privileged brethren and will go a long way for others to join the movement of nation building by giving up subsidy, the statement added.
Posted on: Sat, 05 Jul 2014 05:24:12 +0000
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