Question : Giving up of LPG Subsidy

(a) whether the Government has formulated any scheme to persuade the LPG consumers/well off section of society in the country to voluntarily give up their LPG subsidy;
(b) if so, the number of such consumers/ people who have surrendered/renounced their subsidy so far, State/UT-wise;
(c) whether the Government proposes to do away LPG subsidies for rich/higher income bracket people and if so, the criteria fixed by the Government to determine the subsidy formula for the above people;
(d) the quantum of subsidy saved and new LPG connections provided to Below Poverty Line (BPL)/needy and poor families under the said scheme including cases of irregularities identified and action taken thereon, State/UT-wise; and
(e) the number of new LPG connections released under ''Sahaj'' scheme so far along with efforts made by the Government to clear the waiting list of LPG connections in the country in time bound manner, State/UT-wise?

MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) IN THE MINISTRY OF PETROLEUM & NATURAL GAS (SHRI DHARMENDRA PRADHAN)
(a) & (b) Government has launched an initiative to encourage domestic LPG consumers, who can afford to pay the market price for LPG, to voluntarily surrender their LPG subsidy to enable the government to utilize the limited resources to reach out to the economically backward classes. As on 26.11.2015, more than 50 lakh consumers have voluntarily given up/surrendered subsidy on LPG. Details of State/UT-wise number of consumers who have surrendered/renounced their subsidy is at annexure-I.
(c) At present, no such proposal is under consideration of the Government.
(d) The amount of LPG subsidy provided during FY 2014-15 was Rs. 40591 crore as against the subsidy of Rs. 52231 crore during FY 2013-14, which amounts to a saving of Rs. 11,640 crore. This saving in subsidy is mainly due to fall in oil prices and implementation of PAHAL Scheme. State/UT-wise details of CSR connections released using GiveIt Up Mapping since Urja Sangam is at Annexure-II.
OMCs have not received any established cases of irregularities under the scheme of release of LPG connections to BPL families.
(e) State/UT-wise details of LPG connections released under Sahaj scheme as on 23.11.2015 is at Annexure-III. Continuous monitoring of release of connection is done by OMCs so that connections can be released with a time frame of 7 days from the date of the new connection registration wait list is cleared for release of connection.
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