Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi launches Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana ‘Swacch Indhan. Behtar Jeevan – Mahilaon ko mila samman Scheme for Providing LPG connections to Women from BPL Households
New Delhi 01-May-2016
Hon'ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi handing over LPG
connection to a beneficiary from BPL family.
Today at Ballia, Uttar Pradesh, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi launched the massive Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) scheme to provide 5 crore LPG connections to Below Poverty Line (BPL) families in the next 3 financial years.
Addressing the large gathering on the occasion, the Prime Minister said that the participation of such a large number of people in an official programme related to development only proves that the schemes are actually reaching out to the beneficiaries even at grass roots levels.
Talking about PMUY, he said that that the Government of India had initiated the ‘Give It Up’ scheme on 27 March 2015 as an appeal to the ‘better –off’ sections of the society to give up their subsidy on LPG cylinders which then may be used to provide LPG connections to the poor.
"My compliments to Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan and the entire Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas for working on mission mode on this initiative and making it such a grand success”, said the Hon’ble Prime Minister. He also complimented the Minister and his team for re-orienting the priorities of the Ministry and for giving it a pro-poor tilt.
He also complimented each of the 1 crore consumers who responded to his appeal and gave up their subsidy on LPG fuel. He lauded their selfless contribution to the cause of nation building.
Elaborating on the PMUY, the Hon’ble Prime Minister said that over 5 crore BPL women would be provided LPG connections in the next three years, without having to pay any security deposit. The administrative cost of Rs. 1600 per connection, pressure regulator booklet and safety hose would be borne by the Government. The government aims at achieving the objective of providing relief to 5 crore women from the scourge of smoke aand disease by the time the country celebrates the 150th birthday of Mahatma Gandhi.
While dwelling on the steps taken to expand the coverage, the Hon'ble Prime Minister referred to the earlier practice of 25 coupons provided to each MP in a year. As against the earlier practice, he underscored the fact that in the last 2 years, 3 crore households have been provided with LPG connections. This he cited as an illustration of pro-active governance and part of the commitment of his government to uplift the cause of the poor and the down-trodden.
To cater to this increased demand for LPG, nearly 10,000 new distributorships and adequate infrastructure expansion plans are in the pipeline, which will lead to improved employment opportunities for the youth.
Earlier, while welcoming the Prime Minister, Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of State (Independent Charge), MoP&NG, underlined the importance of PMUY for mothers and sisters belonging to impoverished background. The scheme will free 5 crore women from the ill-effects of smoke and disease. He expressed confidence that under the dynamic leadership of Hon'ble Prime Minister, the scheme would prove to be a revolutionary step in women empowerment.
Significance of PMUY:
The scheme is expected to usher in significant benefits for the country:
• It will increase usage of LPG thus reducing health disorders due to usage of polluting conventional cooking fuels like wood, cowdung, etc.
• It will reduce air pollution caused by smoke from solid fuel usage in kitchens and other places.
• It will ensure reduced deforestation and cutting down trees for firewood.
In our country, the poor have limited access to cooking gas (LPG). The spread of LPG cylinders has been predominantly in the urban and semi-urban areas with the coverage mostly in middle class and affluent households. But there are serious health hazards associated with cooking based on polluting fuels. According to WHO estimates there are about 5 lakh deaths in India alone due to polluting cooking fuels. Indoor air pollution is also responsible for a significant number of acute respiratory illnesses in young children. According to experts, having an open fire in the kitchen is like inhaling smoke from 400 cigarettes per day.
Providing LPG connections to BPL households will ensure universal penetration of cooking gas in the country. This measure will empower women and protect their health. It will reduce drudgery and the time spent on cooking. It will also provide employment for rural youth in the supply chain of cooking gas.
Strengthening marketing infrastructure
Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Independent Charge has already announced that distribution system will be further strengthened to ensure catering to people’s demand especially in remote areas. He has directed OMCs to ensure reliable, sustained last mile supply and effective monitoring and redressal mechanisms to ensure targeted delivery and effective implementation. He also said that 10,000 new LPG distributorships have been planned during the next 3 financial years to expand the coverage area. Further, one officer from the public sector Oil Marketing companies would be appointed as coordinator for each of the country’s 674 districts to augment the penetration of LPG in the country.
\With 2016 being declared as the ‘Year of Consumers’ by Mr. Pradhan, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has ensured that Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) offer customer centric offereings like Sahaj – the online booking and release of new connections, the online booking and payment for LPG refills, ‘1906’- the 24x7 LPG leakage Emergency telephone helpline, to name a few.
The aim is to achieve the ambitious target of converting an additional 10 crore households (of which 5 crore would be BPL families) to LPG usage by the end of 2018.
