Minister of State for Petroleum & Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan today said the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), a flagship scheme of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, has surpassed the targets for the financial year 2016-17 in terms of installing new connections.
Addressing the media, Pradhan said over 2.20 crore connections have been given in the first year of its launch to BPL families as per the SECC 2011 data. This has surpassed the target of 1.5 crore connections for the financial year. PMUY was launched on May 1 last year at Ballia, Uttar Pradesh by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In the 2016-17 financial year, Oil Marketing Companies have given 3.25 crore new connections across the country. He said the LPG demand in the country has registered a growth rate of over 10%. More than 4,600 new distributors have been added in the last three years which have come up primarily in rural areas.
Speaking on the key features of implementation of PMUY, Pradhan said 85% of the new consumers have come back for a refill. Some 38% of the beneficiaries in PMUY are from SC/ST category. He said the PMUY has been implemented in a participatory mode involving beneficiaries, elected representatives, distinguished personalities, local administration and so on. A differential communication strategy to popularize the scheme as well as educating beneficiaries on safety norms through regional languages was carried out. There was a 360-degree engagement and also monitoring of the implementation of the scheme. Pradhan said PMUY has become a social movement with the beneficiaries coming forward in large number to apply and get the cylinders installed.
Pradhan laid strong emphasis on safety and safe usage of LPG. He said measures like installation of LPG cylinder through a mechanic at houses of all PMUY beneficiaries was being done so that safe and correct usage of LPG can be explained to the beneficiaries. Safety Clinics/Camps are being organized on a regular basis Pan-India for the beneficiaries to make them aware of the safe usage of LPG also. “Mahilao ko mila Samman, Yahi hai Ujjwala ki Pehchan”, he added. (NSS)