The Centre on Tuesday announced a much-needed relief to the people by slashing the price of LPG cylinders by Rs 200. At a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Centre arrived at the decision at a time when the nation is celebrating Onam and ahead of rakhi. Soon after the Centre's announcement, PM Modi posted on X: "The festival of Raksha Bandhan is a day to increase happiness in our families. The reduction in the gas price will enhance the comfort of the sisters and make their lives easier. May every sister of mine be happy and healthy."
The Centre's move comes right before the elections in the five states — Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, and Manipur — and barely nine months before the Lok Sabha polls next year. The Opposition has been cornering the government over the sky-high prices of cylinders. The Congress regularly questions the BJP on its stand before and after coming to power in 2014 over the price of LPG cylinders.
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The slash in LPG cylinder price will also be applicable to beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, who earlier enjoyed a subsidy of Rs 200. This means they can now avail the benefit of a total price reduction of Rs 400, Union minister Anurag Thakur said on Tuesday. He also said that the government will provide 75 lakh new LPG connections for free under the Ujjwala scheme.
In May 2016, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MOPNG) introduced the 'Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana' (PMUY) as a flagship scheme. The primary goal of this programme was to provide rural and underprivileged households access to clean cooking fuel, specifically LPG. These households would previously rely on traditional cooking fuels like firewood, coal, and cow-dung cakes, which not only had adverse effects on the health of rural women but also on the environment.
Earlier, this year the Congress posted on X, calling out BJP leader and Union Minister Smriti Irani for her stance. "When the price of LPG cylinder was less than 400 rupees, then Smriti Irani sat on the road with the cylinder. Today the price of a cylinder has crossed Rs 1,100, will it hit the road even today," the Congress's post read.
The price of the 14.2 kg domestic cooking gas cylinders has not been changed since the last hike on March 1 of this year. On March 1, it was hiked by Rs 50. The prices of domestic LPG cylinders will now be Rs 903, Rs 929, Rs 902.50, and Rs 918.50 in Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Chennai, respectively.
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