New Delhi, Jan 6: Domestic consumers may have to wait longer for the cap on subsidised LPG cylinders to be raised from six to nine. The Petroleum Ministry has been pressing for a relaxation, but the Finance Ministry has expressed serious reservations.
“Lack of revenue and a wide fiscal deficit may not make it possible this year to extend such subsidies,” a senior official in the Finance Ministry said. He, however, added that after this year’s Budget is presented, some provisions may be made by adjusting the flow of funds.
An additional Rs 3,000 crore will be needed to provide households with nine subsidised cylinders every year. The government is not willing to burden the exchequer any further. This was the reason behind the Petroleum Ministry not preparing a Cabinet note regarding the matter, sources told Deccan Herald.
Petroleum Minister M Veerappa Moily, in a premature statement ahead of the Gujarat Assembly elections, had said the government may raise the cap.
The government is already in a tight spot after allocating funds for social sector programmes, including flagship schemes like the MGNREGS and the direct cash transfer. In fact, the Finance Ministry never favoured raising the cap to nine cylinders. Moily had discussed the issue with Finance Minister P Chidambaram, but to no avail.
The Finance Ministry had contended that the whole purpose of capping subsidised cylinders will be defeated if the government goes with relaxing the restriction. The exchequer has to shell out Rs 35,000 crore towards cooking gas subsidy in 2012-13.
Besides, the Finance Ministry also suggested the Petroleum Ministry to reduce the gap between the four different price categories of LPG cylinders - subsidised cylinder, additional refills that a household may buy beyond the six cylinders, cylinders used by charitable and other institutions and commercial use, like in hotels.
According to the finance ministry, a wide gap in price of these four categories has led to the misuse of subsidised refills.
Sources said the petroleum ministry is trying to find a middle path to tackle the problem. They added that the ministry has proposed a different rate structure for bulk buyers of diesel like the Railways, defence and public and private sector companies. It has proposed some cut in diesel subsidy for these organisations, which account for close to 20 per cent of the total diesel consumption. The proposal, if implemented, can save the exchequer close to Rs 15,000 crore every year, which can in turn be diverted to raise the LPG cap.
However, lifting the subsidy on diesel for the Railways will culminate in an unusual hike in passenger fares in the next Budget, which can draw flak from political opponents.
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