AP CM Offers Free Gas Refills as Diwali Gift

 Vijayawada: By way of a Diwali gift, Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu has announced distribution of three domestic gas refills free of cost to all eligible women from Oct. 31.

An election promise of Naidu and the three-party alliance, this would cost the exchequer an expense of Rs 2,684 crore per annum as a Diwali Gift. Eligible women could start booking the free gas refills from Oct. 24.

Officials would remit the subsidy amount of gas refills into the bank account of women within two days, Naidu said.

The chief minister reviewed the modalities for implementation of the ‘Deepam’ scheme with civil supplies minister Nadendla Manohar and representatives from oil marketing companies like IOC, BPC and HPC, at the Secretariat here on Monday.

Naidu said the eligible women having LPG connection would be given the gas refills in a transparent manner. All the three gas refills would be given at a gap of four months each.

The CM opined that schemes like this would help improve the living standards of the poor. He asked officials to ensure that no eligible woman is left out of the scheme.

Civil supplies secretary Veerapandian, in a presentation at the meeting, said that each domestic gas refill would cost Rs 876 in the retail market. The Centre gives Rs 25 as subsidy per refill. With this, the cost of each refill would be Rs 851.

Notably, the Telugu Desam-led alliance government had begun its governance in June this year with chief minister Naidu appending his signatures on five files, fulfilling his poll promises. The government also started implementing the ‘Super Six’ assurances of the TD, the first one being the Deepam scheme to deliver three gas refills freely to women per annum.