Madhya Pradesh Cabinet Clears Cheap Cooking Gas Scheme for ‘Ladli Behnas’

Earlier in the day, the chief minister said that the announcement, endorsed by the state cabinet at its meeting here in the morning, would be implemented ahead of the upcoming ‘Raksha Bandhan’ festival.

Around 40 lakh beneficiaries of the ‘Ladli Behna’ scheme and the ‘Pradhan Mantri Ujjala Yojana’ would be benefitted by the decision.

This was one of the major poll promises made by the ruling BJP before the last year’s Assembly elections in the state.

“The Ladli Behnas and beneficiaries of the Ujjala Yojana who number around 40 lakh will benefit from our commitment to provide gas cylinders at Rs 450. This is a gift for the Ladli Behnas ahead of Rakshi Bandhan," he said.

State urban development minister Kailash Vijayvargiya said that an allocation of Rs 160 crore has been made to implement the cheap cooking gas scheme.

He said that a gas cylinder currently costs Rs 848. The Ladli Behnas would be given the gas cylinder at Rs 450 and the remaining amount would be borne by the state government.

State BJP president and Lok Sabha member from Khajuraho in the state Vishnu Dutt Sharma described it as a historic decision by the Madhya Pradesh cabinet.

During the last year’s Assembly elections, the BJP had pledged to provide gas cylinders at Rs 450 each to the beneficiaries of the Ladli Behna and Ujjala schemes, Mr Sharma said and thanked the chief minister for fulfilling one of the key poll promises of the party.

The chief minister reiterated that no welfare scheme being run by the state would be discontinued.

His iteration comes amid reports appearing in a section of the media that the Ladli Behna scheme, envisaging to provide Rs 1250 per month to the beneficiaries each, would be discontinued.

The state government has earmarked Rs 18,000 crore in the current year’s annual budget for implementation of the scheme.