‘Elite’ Gujaratis step forward to surrender their LPG subsidies

The company had recently circulated SMSes on customers mobile numbers requesting them to give up their LPG subsidies. A subsidised 14.2 kg LPG bottle costs Rs 418.50 in Ahmedabad while a non-subsidised one costs Rs 919.

“I can afford to pay the market rates so I decided to surrender my subsidy. I felt somebody who is tax paying and in an upper social bracket should not keep this advantage,” said Jumani who surrendered his subsidy through the IOC portal which has published names of over 1,500 customers from across India on it’s “roll of honour” list.

Majority of these customers are from the states of Delhi, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. “In response, I received a letter from the PSU, which I forwarded to 25 close friends and relatives who I believed could afford to give up their respective subsidies,” he added.

Another LPG customer, Tarun Bajaj who works as a general manager at a public-sector unit in Gujarat, who gave up his subsidy said,  “I do not need the subsidy. By god’s grace, I can afford to pay the market rate for the LPG I use and it would be good if the government can use the money for something constructive.

Secondly, this was one small bit I could do for the country where the subsidies add to the fiscal deficit,” said Bajaj who works the deputy general manager at Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals Limited (GNFC) and resides in Ahmedabad. The scheme is being seen as a back-door-move by the Narendra Modi government to do away with LPG subsidies in the country.

“LPG is a highly subsidized commodity in India and the subsidy was a whopping Rs 40,000 crore during 2013-14. Any subsidy is money out of the exchequer. The same money if not given out as subsidy could be used for development purposes benefitting the nation, states the company on it’s website.

“Most of those who have surrendered their LPG subsidies are from the upper echelons of society. These customers will henceforth be paying the market price for their respective LPG supply,” said PS Bhatti, chief area manager of Indane Area Office at Ahmedabad. A number of IOC employees in the state have also surrendered their subsidies.