Cabinet clears 3 free gas cylinders scheme

Vijayawada : The State Cabinet has cleared the proposal for giving three gas cylinders free of cost to poor women which was part of the joint manifesto of the alliance government during elections. The scheme that is being launched from October 31 – Diwali - would cost the government Rs 2,684 crore per year.

In order to ensure that there was no confusion, and the scheme was implemented properly, the government has announced a fixed calendar for supply of gas cylinders. The beneficiaries will be able to take one cylinder anytime between April 1 and July 30, Second one between August to November and the third one between December to March.

Stating this, Minister for Civil Supplies Nadendla Manohar said that never before was such exercise done and a schedule was fixed. He said delivery of the cylinder would be made within four days of booking and the cost of each gas cylinder would be Rs 894. Once the cylinder is delivered, the government will transfer the amount to the account of the beneficiary within 48 hours through direct benefit transfer (DBT). Before the supply of cylinders, the subsidy amount would be paid to the gas company. The cabinet also gave its nod for the proposal to exempt seigniorage charges and GST on free sand scheme. This would cost the government Rs 264 crore per annum.

The Chief Minister directed the Ministers and District in-charge Ministers to ensure that the scheme was implemented without intervention of party leaders. It should be implemented in a transparent manner, he said.

He also indicated that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi was likely to unveil the AP 2047 Vision document in November.

The cabinet further decided to make amends to the Dr NTR University of Health Sciences Act to remove discrimination against disabled persons and leprosy patients. A bill on this would be introduced in the next Assembly session. The cabinet scrapped the system to get tenders wetted by retired judges which was introduced by the previous government as part of reverse tendering. It also decided to restore the web portal where all GOs would be uploaded.