PMUY: Launched at Dahod for the Three States

DAHOD:
Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) was launched for the three states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan marking another step in the direction of providing LPG connections to over 5 crore Below Poverty Line (BPL) families in the next 3 financial years.
Present at the launch, were the Chief Ministers of the three states –  Anandiben Patel, Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Vasundhara Raje. The launch programme was presided over by Amit Shah, National President, BJP under the aegis of Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of State (i/c), Petroleum and Natural Gas, Govt. of India.
Fifteen women from BPL families from across the three states were handed over their connections by Sh. Amit Shah as a symbolic regional launch of the PMUY. Addressing the large gathering on the occasion, Amit Shah 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 level.
He complimented the efforts of Dharmendra Pradhan for effectively steering PMUY through the efforts of his Ministry. The scheme would impact the lives of women from BPL families in a major way by reducing the drudgery of cooking with polluting fuels and go a long way in reducing indoor pollution and other health related problems being faced by them.
Earlier addressing the august gathering, Dharmendra Pradhan said that over 5 crore BPL women would be provided LPG connections in the next three years. The administrative cost of Rs. 1600 per connection, which includes a cylinder, pressure regulator, booklet, safety hose, etc. will be borne by the Government. The government aims at providing relief to 5 crore women from the scourge of smoke and disease by the time the country celebrates the 150th birthday of Mahatma Gandhi.
While dwelling on the steps taken to expand the coverage of clean fuels, he said that the Government aims to provide 25 lakhs new LPG connections and 15 lakh PNG connections to increase the use of clean fuels in the State of Gujarat.
The three CMs while addressing the gathering remarked on the major change that PMUY would bring to the lifestyles of women from the BPL families. They praised the visionary leadership of Prime Minister, Narendra Modi in recognising and addressing the problems faced by women.
The Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas had earlier successfully implemented PAHAL, the Direct Transfer of subsidy on LPG to the bank accounts of consumers. Over 15.5 crore customers have benefited from the scheme, which has resulted in prevention of subsidy leakages to the unintended. Also, the voluntary surrendering of subsidy by over 1 crore customers under the GiveItUp appeal from the Prime Minister, has helped the Government provide LPG to poor households.
With 2016 being declared as the ‘Year of Consumers’ by Shri Pradhan, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has ensured that Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) offer customer centric offerings like Sahaj – the online booking and release of new connections, the online booking and payment for LPG refills, ‘1906’- the 24×7 LPG leakage Emergency telephone helpline, to name a few.