On the Budget table: Free LPG connection for every BPL home

Govt could announce a new scheme for the common man a free LPG connection with a cylinder and a regulator for every BPL family.

This Budget,the government could announce a new scheme for the common man a free LPG connection with a cylinder and a regulator for every family living below poverty line.

Though the scheme is yet to be approved by the Cabinet,Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has signalled its inclusion in the 2010-11 Budget,providing a token Rs 1 crore for the scheme that gives a one-time financial assistance to BPL families to pay the Rs 1,400 security deposit for the cylinder and regulator.

The refill cost nearly Rs 320 for 14.2 kg of gas would have to be paid by the consumer.

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The actual budgetary support would be known once the proposal is cleared by the Expenditure Finance Committee and the Cabinet, said an official.

The Petroleum Ministry has asked for Rs 980 crore to cover 70 lakh BPL families in the next two years. Though the Planning Commission approved the project last month,it recommended Rs 100 crore for this year to initiate a pilot project,the official said.

States would be asked to chip in by sharing the cost of cooking stove,delivery rubber tube and other costs liable to be borne by customers. The amount in excess of state participation would have to be borne by the customer.

Last October,Petroleum Minister Murli Deora launched the Rajiv Gandhi Gramin LPG Vitrak scheme in which smaller outlets are to be opened in rural and remote areas otherwise not economically viable.

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The aim was to release 5.5 crore new LPG connections by 2015,taking the total number of LPG connections from the present 11.5 crore to 16 crore.

Deora later expanded the proposal to cover every BPL family in urban small towns and cities.