Letters: Charity begins at home

With reference to the editorial, "Subsidised gas" (May 5), the launch of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, an ambitious programme of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provide subsidised liquefied petroleum gas connections to 50 million poor families, must be lauded for its intent.

It's a different matter that the scheme, though aimed at reducing pollution and improving the quality of life for women in rural areas, is being portrayed as a huge political investment by the government. In any case, the proposed connections, expected to cost Rs 8,000 crore over three years, will be allotted in the names of women members of households living below the poverty line (BPL).

I endorse the editorial's view that the first big challenge for the scheme would be to identify the poor households, in the absence of proper, authenticated data on the BPL population. Apart from distribution-related problems, the scheme would entail delays in reimbursement to oil companies, as the use of the Aadhaar-based direct benefits transfer system may not be put in place.

Regarding the government's plan to withdraw cooking gas subsidy for the well-off, it should rework its action plan and on-ground strategies to ensure there are no hassles administratively and financially.

Now that around 11.3 million households have given up the subsidy, the government should look at grey areas: blatant misuse of the subsidy.

Also, I would like to know how many among the political class have voluntarily given up the subsidy. After all, charity begins at home.

S Kumar New Delhi

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