UPA's clever move? Next LPG subsidy rollout in Modi's hometown

The Congress is taking its battle with Narendra Modi right into his own turf.

According to an Economic Times report , a month after rolling out thedirect benefit transfer (DBT) scheme for LPG cylinders, theUPA government has now chosen Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s home district for the next phase of the scheme.

Under the DBT scheme, which has been termed as a ‘gimmick to buy votes’ by the BJP,people are paid cash to help them purchase cooking gas cylinders. Each consumer gets Rs 435 in his/her bank account when an LPG cylinder is booked.

According to ET, state-runIndian Oil Corp, which has the only gas agency in Vadnagar in Mehsana distrcit, Modi’s hometown, is making special efforts for a successful rollout of the scheme.

If the scheme is successfully rolled out, it could give the Congress led UPA significant leverage in the state of one of the biggest chief ministers in the country.

The Congress is undoubtedly hoping that the DBT scheme will give stiff competition to Modi’s pet project of delivering piped natural gas to households. And since piped gas prices have become 30 percent more expensive than subsided LPG, chances are that people would want to switch to LPG in the state.

Earlier, terming it a big success, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Veerappa Moily said that so far the rollout had doled out about Rs 91 crore in subsidy. According to Moily, when the scheme is rolled out throughout the country, it would help prevent Rs 8,000-9,000 crore going to unintended beneficiaries.

Now, the stage is set for direct cash transfer to LPG customers in Gujarat’s Mehsana, Bhavnagar, Valsad and Anand districts in October. In fact, according to the ET report, a few gas distributors in Gujarat has already started registering Aadhaar cards to create a database on the software platform for direct cash transfer.

The ambitious DBT scheme for domestic LPG cylinder, launched in 18 districts of the country on 1 June, has crossed 2.28 million transactions. Indications are that the scheme will be rolled out throughout the country by the year-end.