New Delhi: The government on Wednesday gave out the 6-croreth free cooking gas (LPG) connection as the scheme to make available cleaner fuel in every household kitchens runs ahead of schedule.
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu handed over papers for an LPG connection under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) – which was launched on May 1, 2016, with a target to give 5 crore connections by March 2019 – to a Muslim lady Jasmina Khatoon from Shivpark, Khanpur in the national capital.
The target was later raised to 8 crore connections by 2021 and now envisages giving all households a connection. Speaking on the occasion, Naidu termed the scheme as revolutionary and “possibly the world’s biggest poverty alleviation programme.”
The scheme together with a government push to replace polluting firewood in kitchens has led to LPG coverage rising to almost 90 per cent of the population from 55 per cent in May 2014, he said.
Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said as many as 23 crore refills or about 4 cylinders of 14.2-kg each have been bought by PMUY beneficiaries in a year, thereby rejecting criticism of the scheme that households reverted to firewood and other mediums of cooking once the initial free LPG cylinder was exhausted.
Under the scheme, the government provides a subsidy of Rs 1,600 to state-owned fuel retailers for every free LPG gas connection that they give to poor households.
This subsidy is intended to cover the security fee for the cylinder and the fitting charges. The beneficiary has to buy her own cooking stove.
To reduce the burden, the scheme allows beneficiaries to pay for the stove and the first refill in monthly installments. However, the cost of all subsequent refills has to be borne by the beneficiary household. Last month, the government extended PMUY to all poor households.
The scheme originally targeted giving free LPG connections to mostly rural women members of below the poverty line (BPL) households. The list was later expanded to include all SC/ST households, forest dwellers, most backward classes, inhabitants of islands, nomadic tribes and tea estates among others. (PTI)
