In a significant development, the Telangana government’s gas cylinder subsidy scheme has now reached over 44.10 lakh families across the state. The scheme, known as the Mahalakshmi scheme, provides a subsidy of Rs. 500 per cylinder to eligible ration card holders.
According to the Civil Supplies Department, the government has released a subsidy for 76.64 lakh cylinders, amounting to a total of Rs. 227.42 crores paid to gas consumers in the state. When the scheme was launched on February 27, the number of beneficiaries stood at 39.50 lakh families. However, this number has now increased significantly, with more than 4.6 lakh additional families being covered under the scheme.
The increase in the number of beneficiaries is attributed to the provision of amendments in public administration centers, allowing more eligible families to apply and receive the subsidy. Initially, only 39.50 lakh families were found eligible, while 91.49 lakh people had applied for the scheme.
Officials have explained that some of the applications were not registered, while others had multiple gas connections or opted out of the subsidy. Additionally, incorrectly filled application forms, such as providing the consumer ID instead of the unique ID, affected the number of eligible beneficiaries.
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To address this issue, the government has directed the Civil Supplies Commissioner, DS Chauhan, to ensure that the subsidy is deposited into the accounts of eligible consumers within 48 hours. Earlier, it was taking four to five days for the subsidy to reach the customers’ accounts.
The scheme’s benefits are being distributed across the state, with the highest number of beneficiaries in the GHMC area, followed by Nalgonda, Khammam, and Nizamabad districts. Even smaller districts like Narayanapet, Bhupalapalli, Vanaparthi, and Asifabad have seen a significant number of families benefiting from the Mahalakshmi gas cylinder subsidy scheme.
-Sanyogita
