National Coordinator of the Mahila Congress and Jalandhar Municipal Corporation councillor Dr Jasleen Sethi has strongly criticised the Central Government’s decision to reduce the number of subsidised LPG cylinders under the Ujjwala Yojana.
She said that while the scheme was launched with major promises for women, those commitments were now being eroded by inflation and cuts in subsidies. Under the revised structure, poor women will receive subsidy on only four LPG cylinders a year.
Dr Sethi said the government had originally promised 12 subsidised cylinders annually under the scheme to help women move away from smoke-filled and unsafe traditional cooking methods. She added that this limit was later reduced to nine cylinders and has now been brought down to four, highlighting what she described as a widening gap between promises and delivery.
She further said the Central government recently increased the price of domestic LPG cylinders by Rs 29 on June 7. According to her, domestic LPG prices have been hiked twice, while subsidies under the Ujjwala scheme are being reduced simultaneously.
She said beneficiaries will now save only around Rs 1,200 annually through subsidy support. From the fifth cylinder onwards, users will have to pay Rs 942 for a 14.2-kg LPG cylinder, compared with around Rs 642 earlier, adding that the government was steadily increasing inflationary pressure on essential commodities.
Dr Sethi added that on the anniversary of the Prime Minister’s third term, instead of providing relief to women and poor families, the government had effectively added to their financial burden through inflation and reduced basic support.
