Free gas refill bookings to start from October 29: Nadendla Manohar
VIJAYAWADA: Civil Supplies Minister Nadendla Manohar has announced that bookings for the state government’s free gas cylinders scheme would open at 10am on October 29.
The government is all set to implement the three gas refills per annum offer for white ration card holders from Diwali,” the minister told the media at the state Secretariat on Friday.
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu would launch the scheme on October 31, marking the Diwali festival. The first gas refill under the scheme will be delivered to every eligible household from then on.
Manohar said, “There are 1.55 crore LPG gas connections and 1.47 crore white ration cards in the state. The scheme will benefit all the eligible families. A burden of Rs 2,684.75 crore will fall on the government every year from the implementation of this scheme.”
Gas refill bookings will start from October 29 and gas cylinders will be delivered within 24 hours of gas booking in urban areas and within 48 hours in rural areas. Subsidy amount would be deposited in the bank account of the beneficiaries through DBT mode within 48 hours of gas cylinder delivery to them, the minister said.
Manohar said, “Among the three free refill per annum, the first can be availed before March 31, the second before July 31 and the third before November 30. The year will be divided into three block periods for implementation of this scheme. The first block period will be from April 1 to July 31, the second from August 1 to November 31 and the third block period from December 1 to March 31.”
If the beneficiaries face any problem, they can call toll free number 1967 and register their complaints.
For the implementation of this scheme, an advance of Rs 894.92 crore will be paid to the oil companies on October 29. The Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana scheme is being applied to only 9.65 lakh gas connections out of the 1.55 crore gas connections in the state and the state government is bearing the expenses for the scheme, Manohar said.
On paddy procurement, the minister said payments will be made within 48 hours of the purchase from farmers. So far, 147 metric tonnes of grains have been purchased and a payment of Rs 34 lakh made within 24 hours.
For the first time, a committee has been set up by the government to stabilize the prices. The civil supplies minister is the chairman of the committee and the ministers of finance, health and agriculture the members. After the formation of this committee, the rates of pulses have been controlled, he said.
