Chennai: Chief minister C Joseph Vijay on Monday announced two welfare measures aimed at easing household and mobility costs—three free LPG cylinders a year for mor than 1.3 crore families and expansion of fareless bus travel for all women and transgender persons across Tamil Nadu . Announced under Rule 110 in assembly, the schemes carry a combined annual financial cost of around ₹10,000 crore per year.
In addition, they can also travel in inter-district mofussil buses and in hill areas, from Oct 2. The scheme will cover around 1,30,16,104 households, which include families with an annual income below ₹2.5 lakh, small and marginal farmers and households having persons with disabilities. Vijay also announced Annapurni scheme under which eligible families will get subsidy equivalent of three LPG cylinders a year.
“There will be no income ceiling or limit on the number of trips,” Vijay said. It is a social investment securing a student’s education, a worker’s livelihood and a mother’s household security,” Vijay said, drawing loud applause from the treasury benches. “No woman in Tamil Nadu should lose an opportunity because of commuting costs,” he said adding TN govt would incur an additional expenditure of ₹6,000 crore annually for the scheme.
“The scheme is not just about free bus travel.
Under the expanded fareless bus travel scheme, women and transgenders can travel in express, limited stop services (lss), deluxe services in urban areas, while they were earlier permitted to travel for free only in ordinary govt buses.
The state has earmarked an additional ₹4,000 crore for the scheme a year, which will be formally launched during Pongal in Jan next year.
Beneficiaries will buy cylinders directly from oil companies, with the subsidy amount reimbursed to their linked bank accounts after purchase, Vijay said.