Dharmendra Pradhan to launch LPG scheme for BPL households in West Bengal

Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan would launch the 'Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana' (PMUY) in West Bengal on Sunday, targeting 1.06 crore Below Poverty Line (BPL) households of the state.

West Bengal, where LPG penetration is lower than national average at 52 percent would be the next destination for the launch of PMUY scheme covering all 20 districts.

Announced in the Budget for 2016-17, PMUY scheme entailed providing free connection to women of BPL households based on socio economic caste census data of 2011.

The government had earmarked Rs. 8,000 crore for its rollout across the country.

Praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi for introducing the PMUY, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh yesterday said it was a historic step for the state as well as for the nation.

Asserting that there would be dealership at 150 centres, Singh said the government would expand it every month.

He thanked Pradhan for initiating the historic scheme.

The ambitious social welfare scheme of the Narendra Modi Government was launched on May 1 at Ballia in Uttar Pradesh.

With the Ujjwala Yojana, the government aims to provide Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) connections to BPL households in the country.

The scheme is aimed at replacing the unclean cooking fuels, mostly used in the rural India, with the clean and more efficient LPG.

The scheme is aimed at providing 25 lakh LPG connections to women of BPL (Below Poverty Line) households across the state.

Gas connections will be provided to them at a token fee of Rs 200.

The scheme is aimed at empowering women and protecting their health, reducing the serious health hazards associated with cooking based on fossil fuel, reducing the number of deaths in India due to unclean cooking fuel and preventing young children from significant number of acute respiratory illnesses caused due to indoor air pollution by burning the fossil fuel.