1 Sept 2009;timesofindia.indiatimes.com:NEW DELHI: With the elections safely over, Delhi government is shedding its poll sops. After the ending of subsidy on electricity subsidy jacked up
Delhiites' electricity bills, it could soon be the turn of the Rs 40 subsidy on every cylinder of cooking gas to go. Though a formal proposal is yet to be moved by the finance department, the matter was discussed in Monday's cabinet meeting and the process is likely to be initiated soon.
The subsidy was given in June 2008 after a hike in LPG prices, reportedly at the behest of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who asked Congress chief ministers to cushion its impact on citizens. Interestingly, it was not withdrawn even after the Rs 50 price hike was rolled back — a move that made little financial sense but a lot of political sense at that time.
Sources said the matter of withdrawing the subsidy, which has been talked about for a while now, was discussed in the cabinet meeting. All ministers have more or less agreed that in such difficult times — Delhi government is going through one of its worst years ever in terms of revenue collection — there is little point in continuing with a subsidy on a non-existent hike. The subsidy costs the exchequer Rs 165 crore annually.
Said a source who was present at the meeting: ``At any other time the subsidy would have been withdrawn forthwith immediately after the hike was rolled back. But the party was facing Assembly elections in less than six months and did not dare to do it. The withdrawal is being talked about since the election results and was considered almost certain to be a part of the budget speech but the chief minister stumped most by continuing with it for close to a year after the elections — partly also because Lok Sabha elections followed.''
A finance department official questioned the very logic of a subsidy. ``It is not as if we are not paying the money. The subsidy also comes from the tax payer's pocket and the financial prudence of continuing one just because it is politically convenient is extremely questionable. But now that a consensus has been reached on it, we will initiate the process for its withdrawal.''
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