Goa Forward Party president Vijai Sardesai has alleged that around two lakh of the more than three lakh applicants for the state’s Rs 3,000 LPG subsidy have not yet received the promised assistance, raising questions about the delivery of a household welfare scheme.
Sardesai, who is also the Fatorda MLA, criticised the BJP-led Goa government over the delay in transferring the benefit to eligible applicants. According to the figures cited by him, only about one lakh applicants have received the subsidy so far, while the remaining applicants are still waiting for payment.
The assistance was announced for women who applied for financial support towards LPG cylinders. Sardesai said the government had earlier promised to provide three free cylinders to every household each year. Referring to the 2021 promise, he said that five years would have amounted to 15 cylinders per household, but the government announced the Rs 3,000 assistance only in September this year.
“BJP in 2021 promised to give three cylinders free to every household per year. In the five years, they should have given 15 cylinders but it was only in Sept this year they announced that they would provide Rs 3000 per household for the gas cylinders,” Sardesai said, according to the report.
The dispute centres on the gap between announcing a welfare benefit and completing its delivery. Sardesai questioned how the government could hold events to promote its schemes when, according to his claim, nearly two-thirds of applicants had not received the funds. The report does not include a response from the Goa government on the number of applications processed, the reasons for pending payments or the timeline for clearing them.
Sardesai also referred to an earlier promise of free water supply to local households. He alleged that the scheme was discontinued after the 2022 assembly elections, with water wastage cited as the reason. The comparison was used by the GFP leader to accuse the government of making public promises without ensuring sustained implementation.
The allegations place administrative delivery, rather than only the value of the subsidy, at the centre of the political dispute. For households that applied for the benefit, the immediate issue is whether their applications have been approved, whether payments have been released and when pending claims will be settled. The available report does not provide a government-issued beneficiary count or an official payment schedule.
Sardesai described the delay as a betrayal of public trust and alleged that the government was giving greater priority to publicity campaigns and announcements than to transferring assistance to intended beneficiaries. The Goa government’s response and its stated next steps on pending LPG subsidy payments were not available in the report.
