For the past few days, oil companies have been texting LPG consumers, suggesting they voluntarily surrender the subsidy on cylinders – something that many consumers don’t want to do. The price of a subsidised LPG cylinder in Chennai is Rs. 401, while the non-subsidised one costs Rs. 922.
Sources in Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) said that not many consumers had come forward to surrender their subsidy.
“Around 1,500 consumers across the country have opted out so far. Of the 35,000 IOCL employees, around 10-12 per cent have given up this privilege after the oil ministry asked us to surrender the subsidy,” the official source said.
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Many consumers however expressed their displeasure over the text message, pointing out that the subsidy on LPG was one of the few availed by the middle class. R. Sridharan, a resident of Kodambakkam, said: “If the government wants to take even that away, it will be an injustice to families like ours, which do not benefit from many government schemes,” he said.
Several consumers were also confused about why such a message was being sent and what they should do about it.
“I am not sure what to do now. I cannot afford to give up the subsidy,” said B. Kannan, a resident of Thoraipakkam.
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“Consumers are not being forced to surrender; they are doing it voluntarily. They can visit the Indane.co.in website or approach their respective distributors to surrender the subsidy,” the IOCL source added, allaying fears of compulsory withdrawal of subsidy.