Dis gruntled LPG consumers across the State have lashed out at the government’s rushed execution of the Ujjwala scheme, demanding a one-month extension due to ongoing Ganesh Chatur thi preparations. A massive shortage of physical forms at local mu nicipal and panchayat of fices on Sunday left hundreds returning empty-hand ed, com pounding public frus tration. The BJP govern ment’s flag ship scheme triggered panic be cause of the narrow four day window to apply for the scheme, with opposi tion leaders, social ac tivists, critics and the public at large label ling the rushed, offline rollout a “pre-election gimmick.” Residents alleged that while the scheme was launched close to election time, taxpay ers are merely getting a refund of their own money. They argued that it should have been rolled out in a more convenient manner to prevent a sudden rush. Following the launch of the LPG Ujjwala scheme— which promises to deposit Rs 3,000 into the bank ac counts of LPG cardhold ers for three cylinders per year—consumers were given a tight four-day win dow to apply, spanning from September 5 to September 8, ahead of the September 9 deposit deadline. Consumers slammed the government for this hurried timeline, stating that they are currently caught up in Chaturthi chores like house cleaning, painting, decora tions, shopping, and prepar ing traditional sweets like neureo and modaks. Furthermore, due to the limited availability of forms, residents are being forced to make multiple visits to local administrative offices.
Locals noted that even on Sunday, they queued up at various panchayat and mu nicipality offices. However, due to a severe shortage of application forms, many had to return empty-handed, wasting precious time that was meant for festive prepa rations. Ponda resident Rocky Dias stated that the deadline must be extended by at least a month given the festive season. He reported that numer ous consumers visited the Ponda Municipal Council (PMC) office on Sunday to collect forms, only to return empty-handed. “People visiting the PMC office were told that coun cillors had already taken the forms to distribute them personally. This has wasted the precious time of com mon citizens. Sunday was meant for receiving forms at the office, but the forms were collected by council lors. Everyone should have equal access to these forms so that eligible beneficiaries can profit without political interference,” Dias said.
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Similar grievances echoed from the Kavlem Panchayat, where sources confirmed that while 431 forms were initially distributed and 160 filled applications were received back, the stock quickly ran out. Several consumers who arrived later were turned away and told to return the following day, leaving them deeply frustrated by the repetitive visits. Advocating for better governance, Viraj Sapre pointed out the irony of the current collection drive. “Earlier, the government used to transfer the subsidy directly into the bank accounts of gas consumers through the distribution companies. Why should people be forced to visit local bod ies to collect and submit physical forms when the govern ment constantly encourages online systems?” Sapre ques tioned. Echoing these concerns, Umesh Naik recalled the histor ical transition of the subsidy system.
He noted that during the previous Congress regime, citizens bought cylinders di rectly at subsidised rates. Later, under the BJP government, consumers began buying cylinders at market rates, with the subsidy being transferred to their bank accounts via Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) through the gas companies. “If a direct digital transfer system is already fully functional, why are people being made to waste time filling paper forms? The government already holds the complete, Aadhaar-linked records of all valid LPG connections,” Naik argued. In a desperate bid to meet the looming government deadline, most panchayats across North Goa also kept their doors open on Sunday. The unusual weekend opening witnessed chaotic scenes, with serpentine queues forming early in the morning as desperate applicants literally jostled to lay their hands on the limited application forms. Senior citizens bore the brunt of the administrative rush. Left entirely helpless, many elderly residents were seen running from pillar to post in a frantic effort to gather doc uments and complete the paperwork required for submis sion to the panchayat. Adding to the public’s mounting frustration, many appli cants faced immediate disappointment as local stationery shops and photocopy centres remained completely shut on account of it being a Sunday, making it impossible to dupli cate vital documents. In Anjuna Panchayat, sarpanch Surendra Govekar, secre tary and staff sat the entire day attending to around 750 people on Saturday and Sunday.
The panchayat was al lotted only 350 forms on the first day while the staff was forced to take photocopies and put serial numbers on the rest of the forms on the second day. In Siolim-Sodiem, the secretary Navyana Goltekar, Sar panch Sheela Shirodkar along with other panchayat mem bers had to cater to innumerable people that had stood at the panchayat from dawn to dusk. In various panchayats administration work came to a standstill as chaos and confusion reigned supreme when it came to distributing forms. Most of them were senior citi zens who had trouble filling out the forms. Meanwhile, Goa Forward Party (GFP) president and Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai alleged that the BJP govern ment was attempting to fool the people by introducing the scheme during the last financial year of its tenure. “This is a political gimmick by the BJP government. The scheme is for only a single financial year. The government must explain why such a scheme is being introduced now and what its real intention is,” Sardesai said. He claimed that the scheme guidelines clearly state that the benefit would be available only for one financial year.
He also questioned the reported condition relating to ben eficiaries of other government schemes. Sardesai said almost every section of society, particu larly economically vulnerable people and senior citizens, receives assistance through one or another government welfare scheme. “Government schemes are prepared for people who can not afford basic necessities and require financial backing. Senior citizens, in particular, depend on various welfare schemes. If they are already receiving benefits under an other scheme, and are therefore excluded from the Goa Ujjwala Yojana, then who is this scheme actually meant for?” he questioned. He asked whether people who are already benefiting from government schemes would be excluded from the LPG assistance and demanded that the government make its eligibility criteria and intentions clear. “Senior citizens who are taking the benefits of other schemes will not be able to take the benefit of Goa Ujjwala Yojana. So, this scheme is for whom? Is it for non-Goans? The government must answer this,” Sardesai said.
The GFP president accused the BJP government of using welfare announcements for electoral gains instead of pro viding sustained assistance to vulnerable sections. He also questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP government over their understanding of Goa’s dis tinct social and economic circumstances. “The BJP government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi must understand why the people of Goa are differ ent. Goa has its own social fabric and its own requirements. Schemes should be designed keeping the genuine needs of Goans in mind,” he said. Sardesai maintained that a welfare scheme should pro vide continuous support to those who genuinely need it rather than being limited to a single financial year. He demanded that the government disclose the complete eligibility criteria, clarify the exclusion of beneficiaries of other schemes and explain how the scheme would provide meaningful and sustained relief to Goan households. Sardesai said the people of Goa deserved clarity on the government’s intentions before accepting the scheme as a genuine welfare measure. Meanwhile, addressing the media, Citizens for Democ racy Goa (CDG), Convenor Elvis Gomes expressed concern over requiring citizens, many of whom are daily wage earn ers and working-class individuals, to forfeit their daily live lihoods simply to queue up, collect, fill, and return physical application forms at political offices to claim a reimburse ment benefit of a mere Rs 3,000. “In the 21st century, when the state government repeat edly brags about digital transformation and e-governance, forcing the public to stand in lines at MLA offices for a basic welfare form is an insult to the people of Goa,” said Gomes. “Why are these forms not hosted on an open digital portal where any citizen can apply seamlessly from the comfort of their home or a local service kiosk? Is the benefit going to only a select few like it happened during Covid labour Cess distribution?” Gomes questioned.
He noted that experienced administrative leadership should have advocated for a streamlined, citizen-friendly digital portal rather than consenting to an outdated, cum bersome physical distribution mechanism which he said was a retrograde administrative step in the 21st century. Gomes highlighted that States like Tamil Nadu have long tran sitioned their welfare services to robust online platforms, com pletely doing away with manual form distribution to prevent harassment, political gatekeeping, and public inconvenience. Citizens for Democracy Goa demanded that the gov ernment rectify this administrative lapse by making the scheme application process entirely online, transparent, and directly accessible to all eligible beneficiaries without political mediation. “ Something promised 5 years ago has now been brought out in the election year with an eye on votes. But younger generations must realise that days of subjugation are over Gulami has to end. Let online submission facility be provid ed” said the former bureaucrat.
