P. Chidambaram, a Senior leader of Congress, on Wednesday said the “exorbitant” price of the subsidised cylinder under the ‘Ujjwala Yojana’ is a “spoiler” and asserted that a good scheme of subsidised cooking gas started by the UPA has practically perished due to the “callous attitude” of the present government.
“The measure of success of the Ujjwala scheme can be gauged only by the number of refills ordered by the beneficiary,” Chidambaram said.
He claimed data shows that nearly 25 per cent of beneficiaries order only one or two or three refills per year and in the remaining months they do not use LPG cylinders but use non-clean fuel.
“These are the poorest families among the beneficiaries. This proves conclusively that the exorbitant price of the subsidised cylinder (Rs 853) is the spoiler,” the former Union minister said.
“A good scheme started by the UPA government has practically perished because of the callous attitude of the present Government. The Government’s burden of subsidy has crashed from Rs 37,209 crore in 2018-19 to Rs 242 crore in 2021-22!” Chidambaram said.
ALSO READ | Commercial LPG cylinder price cut by Rs 135 in Centre's big move to fight inflation | Check revised rates
