Few takers for free LPG during lockdown
Oil-marketing companies have managed to distribute around 68 million cookinggas cylinders as part of the scheme to offer three cylinders free to 80.3 million families (Ujjwala beneficiaries) in three months. Even if one cylinder has gone to each family, the lockdown relief from the government could not reach 12.3 million families with Ujjwala connections.
Oil-marketing companies have distributed around 68 million cooking gas cylinders during the lockdown so far, as part of the scheme to offer three cylinders free to 80.3 million families (Ujjwala beneficiaries) in three months from April to June.
Even if one cylinder has gone to each family, the lockdown relief from the government could not reach 1 2.3 million families with Ujjwala connections.
According to industry experts, since free cylinders will be available only from April to June, it is unlikely to benefit users optimally unless the relief is extended till March 2021.
Going by three free 14.2-kg cylinders for one beneficiar y, 240.9 million cylinders should be distributed in three months with an estimated outgo of ~13,500 crore from the government kitty.
However, in the first 50 days, from April 1 to May 20, 28 per cent of the target of 240.9 million cylinders, or only 67.992 million, were delivered, according to the data with the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
Experts indicated when free cylinders were planned, the government should have considered that the annual rate of refills was a mere 2.9 cylinders a connection.
“In normal circumstances also, refill rates are low. A major reason for lower lifting now is that the consumption would have declined now. From three meals a day, many poor households would have shifted to two. In addition, there may be transportation issues,” said Dipa Sinha, assistant professor at Ambedkar
University and a Right to Food activist.
She added if only one cylinder was delivered to each of these customers in three months, the expected outcome of reducing the economic hardship of the poor could not be achieved. According to a recent report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), average cylinder usage annually under the Ujjwala scheme was around 3.21 refills at the end of 2018. As part of the economic response to Covid19, the government has launched the pro -poor scheme “Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package” (PMGKP), under which free cylinders are being delivered to the Ujjwala consumers.
When asked about this, a government official said: “The beneficiaries were given funds in advance through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) in their accounts, so that there was no difficulty in availing of this facility. The purpose of the scheme is to have no fuel shortage in poor houses for three months.”
According to the government, workers in the supply chain of LP G cylinder delivery have not only been ensuring timely supply, but also creating awareness among the beneficiaries about the hygiene and health guidelines.
In April, the first month of Covid-induced lockdown, only 45.3 million cylinders were delivered even though the government had given the first set of relaxation from April 20.
“The decision to provide free cylinders to the beneficiaries of the PMUY is commendable. However, there are procedural issues we have highlighted,” said Pawan Soni, general secretary, Federation of LPG Distributors of India.
He said the government should consider extending the validity period of the scheme to March 2021.
This will ensure the three free cylinders can be availed of over a year. A government official said a decision in this regard was likely to be taken by the end of June. The scheme for three free refills is valid from April to June on condition that one refill can be taken a month. According to records, average annual consumption by PMUY customers is 2.9 cylinders or approximately one cylinder i n four months.
Critics had questioned the Ujjwala scheme because of its low refill rate. Some said the price of an LPG cylinder even after subsidy was not affordable for poor households but cylinders under the PMGKP come at no cost.
Since free cylinders will be available only from April to June, it is unlikely to benefit users optimally unless the relief is extended till March 2021, experts say