Refill Relief: Why Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay’s Three Free LPG Cylinders Will Help Poorer Households | Chennai News
B Priyanka, a homemaker from Thirunalur in Aranthangi taluk, can afford to book an LPG refill only few times a year. The six-member family struggles to make ends meet, forcing her to use a traditional firewood stove alongside her LPG stove. “It has been a great help to use the free LPG stove under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY). But we cannot afford refills,” she says. “The chief minister’s announcement of three free LPG cylinders a year is a boon.”Centre recently limited the `300 LPG subsidy to the first four refills a year after which PMUY beneficiaries have to pay the full retail price of a cylinder (approximately `1,000). Chief minister C Joseph Vijay’s announcement of three free LPG cylinders a year for 1.3 crore families comes amid a significant refill gap among poor households covered by PMUY. The scheme was launched in 2016 to provide deposit-free LPG connections, a free two burner stove and first refill, to women from poor households. Union petroleum ministry data for 2025-2026 shows that 11.4% of the 42 lakh PMUY beneficiaries in Tamil Nadu, have not taken a single refill. Of the beneficiaries in TN, 15.3 lakh families have taken between one and four refills, while 22 lakh have taken more than four refills.For some beneficiaries, LPG has replaced firewood and kerosene. “We no longer use a firewood stove, and kerosene is difficult to get, which is why the three-cylinder scheme is a blessing,” says R Selvi of Jaihindpuram, a PMUY beneficiary.A recent evaluation of PMUY by NITI Aayog pointed to the benefits of LPG adoption. In a reply to Parliament, Union minister for petroleum and natural gas Hardeep Singh Puri said 74.3% of surveyed PMUY beneficiaries reported a reduction in indoor air pollution after switching to LPG. A large proportion also reported a reduction in breathlessness and eye irritation, as well as fewer instances of headaches and dizziness. The report noted that beneficiaries preferred LPG for festivals and other large gatherings as it was faster, cleaner and more convenient.Tamil Nadu’s food department has said that 9.5 lakh family-card holders do not have an LPG connection, while 90 lakh card holders have only a single-cylinder connection. Such households are eligible for up to 10 litres and five litres of kerosene through the public distribution system. However, the allocation from Centre was not enough to meet the entitlement. Sources say the TVK govt had used the previous DMK regime’s Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thogai database of 1.3 crore beneficiaries for the three-free-cylinder scheme.
