Chidambaram lashes out at Centre over 'exorbitant' price of subsidised cylinder under Ujjwala scheme

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Wednesday hit out at the Centre for "exorbitant" price of subsidised cylinder under the Ujjwala scheme.

Calling the scheme a "spoiler", Chidambaram said the scheme's success can be gauged only by the number of refills ordered by the beneficiary.

He said that the data has revealed that about 25% of beneficiaries only order one to three refills every year and in the remaining months they do not use LPG cylinders but use non-clean fuel.


"These are the poorest families among the beneficiaries. This proves conclusively that the exorbitant price of the subsidised cylinder (Rs 853) is the spoiler," the former Union minister said.

Chidambaram also said that a good scheme of subsidised cooking gas started by the UPA has perished due to Modi government's "callous attitude".

"A good scheme started by the UPA government has practically perished because of the callous attitude of the present Government. The Government's burden of subsidy has crashed from Rs 37,209 crore in 2018-19 to Rs 242 crore in 2021-22!" he said.