Minister for Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs (FCS&CA) and Tribal Affairs, Chowdhary Zulfkar Ali on Thursday said that the government is soon going to launch second phase of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) to cover additional households in the state.The expanded phase of PMUY will cover the households belonging to scheduled categories, beneficiaries of PMAY- Gramin, Antyodaya Anna Yojana, forest dwellers, an official handout read.“The beneficiaries to be covered, which are in addition to the households identified under Socio Economic Caste Census (SECC), will also be provided deposit free LPG connections,” the minister told a meeting here on Thursday.
The meeting was attended by FCS&CA functionaries, representatives of oil companies. District development commissioners (DDCs) of various districts attended the meeting via video conferencing.
The minister directed all the DDCs to “frame the list of eligible beneficiaries at the earliest” as the government has decided to launch the second phase in the first week of May.
The minister informed that J&K has been ranked No. 1 state in India for implementation of the scheme adding that “around four lakh free LPG connections have been issued under PMUY to the beneficiaries against the 5.07 lakh beneficiaries whose KYC have been done”.
Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) was launched in the state of Telangana on the birth anniversary of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, at Suryapetby by the Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan, in the presence of Shri Bandaru Dattatru, MP . PMUY LPG connections were distributed to the BPL Women beneficiaries by the dignitaries on the stage. The overwhelming response to the PMUY initiative and its efficient implementation & monitoring have led the Government to revise the initial target of releasing 5 crore connections to 8 crore by the year 2020.To achieve this enhanced target, additional categories have been included under extended Ujjwala scheme viz. SC, ST, Most BC, Antyodaya Anna Yojana etc.
PMUY has been a revolutionary initiative that has transformed the lives of more than 3.57 crore households spanning across the length and breadth of the country. The initiative is in line with Governments aim to eradicate energy poverty, thereby promoting economic empowerment.
Addressing the gathering Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Dharmendra Pradhan said that the scheme has been impacting the lives of women from BPL families in a major way by reducing the drudgery of cooking with polluting fuels and will go a long way in reducing indoor pollution. He said that the main mantra of PMUY is “Mahilaon Ko Mila Samman, Swachh Indhan Behtar Jeevan”. He said in order to educate the BPL families, Government is organizing ‘Gram Swaraj Abhiyaan’ from 14th April – 5th May across the country showcasing 7 schemes of the central government. He also announced that on 20th April 2018, ‘Ujjwala Diwas’ will be celebrated by way of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Panchayats at 15000 locations in which large number of PMUY LPG connections will be distributed. LPG Panchayats will focus on the key themes of Health, Economic cost, Safety, Environment and Empowerment. He conveyed that 20 Lakh connections will be distributed in the state of Telangana and for that the total distributorship will be raised from 700 to 1000 in the State in future.
