GREATER NOIDA (UP), Jan 12 � Under pressure from his party, Oil Minister M Veerappa Moily today said the government is considering increasing the quota of subsidised LPG cylinders to 12 per household even as hints were dropped of a one-time hike in diesel and LPG rates, reports PTI.
Moily, who last week said there was no proposal to increase the quota from nine cylinders per household to 12, today said the final decision on the issue will be taken by the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA).
�I have read in newspapers about (Congress vice president) Rahul Gandhi taking up the issue of increasing the LPG cap with the Prime Minister. I am yet to get comments from the Congress vice president or the Prime Minister,� he told reporters here.
Moily said 89.2 per cent of the 15 crore LPG consumers use up to nine cylinders in a year and only 10 per cent have to buy the additional requirement at the market price. If the quota is raised to 12, about 97 per cent of the LPG consumers would be covered by subsidised LPG, he said.
Increasing the limit to 12 would result in an additional fuel subsidy burden of Rs 3,300 crore-5,800 crore for the government.
