Maharashtra: Shinde government aims to cover 1.52 crore households under free gas cylinders scheme
Mumbai: With an eye on state Assembly elections, the Maharashtra government has decided to expand its free gas cylinders scheme. The Rs 850 crore scheme was announced in the budget to provide three LPG cylinders free of cost to 52 Lakh households. Within a month of the announcement, the state Food and Civil Supply Department is working to expand the scope of the scheme and cover 1.52 crore households under it. The government will give the first cylinder from August to the potential beneficiaries of the scheme.
Meanwhile, the government also launched a dedicated website, namely ladakibahin.maharashtra.gov.in, for Mukhya Mantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana (CM My Beloved Sister Scheme), a flagship scheme of chief minister Eknath Shinde.
Ranjit Singh Deol, principal secretary of the Food and Civil Supply department, on Thursday chaired a meeting with oil and petroleum companies in connection with Mukhyamantri Annapurna Yojana (MAY).
An official, who attended the meeting, said that there are 2.70 crore gas cylinder consumers in the state. Of these, 40 per cent cylinders have been seeded with Aadhaar numbers. “So the petroleum companies have been instructed to link LPG accounts with Aadhaar. It will flush out the bogus beneficiaries from the system,” the official said.
According to the officials, around one crore additional GAS cylinder holders will be given the benefits of the Annapurna scheme. The state will have to spend additional Rs 2,500 crore on it. Thus, a total expenditure on this scheme will be Rs 3,350 crore annually.
Mr. Deol told this newspaper that those who want to take the benefits of MAY will have to link the Aadhaar number with the LPG accounts. “We will start making a payment to a beneficiary’s account for the first cylinder from this month,” he said.
