Amaravati, Oct 30 : The scheme to supply three cooking gas cylinders per year for all the eligible women in Andhra Pradesh will be formally launched by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on November 1 at Srikakulam.





This was announced on Wednesday after the Chief Minister handed over cheques of Rs 894 crore to the officials of the petroleum companies towards the subsidy for the current month.



Bookings for the gas cylinders under the scheme began on Tuesday. Under the scheme, named Deepam-2, three free gas cylinders will be supplied to beneficiary women



The scheme, which is part of the Super Six promises of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and its allies, will be implemented from Diwali.



Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday handed over the subsidy amount to the representatives of Bharat Petroleum, Hindustan Petroleum and Indian Oil Corporation at the State Secretariat.



The state Cabinet at its recent meeting gave its consent for the total expenditure of Rs 2,684 crore per annum for the supply of these free cylinders.



The government will be supplying a free cylinder every four months as part of the Deepam-2 scheme and will be releasing the necessary funds as and when necessary.



The eligible beneficiaries can now book the cylinders since the facility came into force on Tuesday. The gas cylinder price of Rs 876 excluding the Central subsidy of Rs 25 will be credited to the personal account of every beneficiary in just 48 hours.



Minister for Civil Supplies Nadendla Manohar and some beneficiaries of the Deepam scheme were present.



Three free gas cylinders every year is the first promise under 'Super Six' to be implemented by the TDP-led alliance government.



The other promises made under Super Six are Rs 15,000 annually to every school-going student through 'Thalliki Vandhanam' scheme, Rs 1,500 per month for every woman in the age group of 18-59, free travel for women in RTC buses, unemployment allowance of Rs 3,000 per month for every jobless youth and annual financial assistance of Rs 20,000 to every farmer.



/IANS