Tamil Nadu CM Vijay Unveils ₹10,000-Crore Welfare Bonanza With 3 Free LPG Cylinders And Expanded Free Bus Travel For Women

· Free Press Journal

Chennai: Unveiling two populist schemes, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Monday announced three free LPG cylinders (reimbursement) a year for eligible families and a major expansion of free bus travel for women. Together, these schemes are expected to cost about ₹10,000 crore annually to the exchequer. While the LPG cylinder scheme would be rolled out from Pongal festival next year (January), the free bus travel expansion would be on from October 2, Gandhi Jayanti.

Making separate suo motu announcements in the Assembly, Vijay said under the proposed “Annapoorani Super Six” scheme, eligible families will receive the benefit equivalent to three LPG cylinders every year, with the amount to be credited directly to their bank accounts after they purchase and receive the cylinders. The government expects the scheme to cover around 1.30 crore families and estimates its annual expenditure at about ₹4,000 crore.

The scheme is intended to cover families with an annual income of up to ₹2.5 lakh, besides specified small and marginal farming families and families of persons with disabilities.

In the run up to the Assembly elections, Vijay had announced all families would receive six LPG cylinders free annually. However, now an eligibility clause has been included and the reimbursement has been limited to three cylinders.

In explaining the rationale, Vijay said the government was responding to the financial pressure faced by households in meeting cooking-fuel expenses in the wake of supply constraints and increased expenditure on LPG due to the ongoing war situation in the Gulf region.

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The second announcement, “Vetri Payanam”, is an expansion of Tamil Nadu’s existing free bus travel scheme for women, which was launched during the erstwhile DMK regime.

Vijay said the existing scheme allows women free travel on specified ordinary buses, with restrictions on distance and exclusions covering Express, LSS, Deluxe and mofussil services. Under the expanded scheme, from October 2, women will be able to travel free on Express, LSS and Deluxe government buses operating within cities and urban areas. Free travel will also be extended to ordinary buses operating on mofussil and hill routes, including for inter-district journeys.

There will be no income ceiling and no restriction on the number of journeys under the scheme. Transgender persons will also be eligible. The government estimates that the expanded scheme will cost approximately ₹6,000 crore every year.

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