The Congress government in Rajasthan will provide 12 LPG cylinders a year at ₹500 each to poor families enrolled under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana from April 1, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said on Monday.
Mr. Gehlot made the announcement at a public meeting organised during Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra at Mala Kheda village in Alwar district.
Mr. Gehlot took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the “drama in the name of Ujjwala Yojana” had not benefitted the poor because the rates of cylinders had increased from ₹400 to ₹1,040 each.
“The cylinders remain empty because of high prices... No one should be deprived of the government’s welfare schemes. A drama was played in the name of Ujjwala Yojana for giving LPG connections to the poor. We are going to make this provision in the [State] Budget which I will present in the Assembly next month,” Mr. Gehlot said in the presence of Mr. Gandhi.
The announcement comes as the ruling party begins its preparations for the Assembly election in 2023 amid a truce between the two rival factions led by Mr. Gehlot and former Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot brought about by the Bharat Jodo Yatra traversing the State.
Mr. Gehlot said the State government would conduct a study of families below the poverty line (BPL) which are connected with the Ujjwala Yojana, which was launched in 2016, as a separate category for their identification for the benefit under new budgetary scheme. He said this would provide a major relief to poor people affected by price rise.
