(KR)
Around 2.78 lakh LPG connections have been issued to women beneficiaries in Jammu and Kashmir under Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) which has resulted in increasing LPG Coverage in the State to 85.20%.
This information was given by the Minister of State (I/C) Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan. He said 2.20 crore LPG connections have been issued to BPL families under PMUY during 2016-17 surpassing the target of 1.5 crore for the said fiscal.
Pertinently, PMUY was launched on 1st May 2016 at Ballia, Uttar Pradesh by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. The Minister said that during 2016-17, Oil Marketing Companies have issued a total of 3.25 crore new LPG connections across the country. “This is the highest ever LPG connections released in any given year. Today the total number of active LPG consumer has crossed 20 Crore. This has been a quantum jump from 14 Cr in the year 2014,” he said.
Pradhan said LPG demand in the country has registered a growth rate of more than 10%. More than 4,600 new distributors have been added in the last 3 years which have come up primarily in rural areas, he said.
Speaking on the key features of implementation of PMUY, Pradhan said that 85% of the new consumers have come back for a refill. About 38% of the beneficiaries in PMUY are from SC/ST categories. He added that PMUY has been implemented in a participatory mode involving beneficiaries, elected representatives, distinguished personalities, local administration etc.
He said a differential communication strategy to popularize the scheme as well as educating beneficiaries on safety norms through regional languages was carried out. There is a 360-degree engagement and also monitoring of the implementation of the scheme. He said PMUY has become a social movement with the beneficiaries coming forward in large number to apply and get the cylinders installed.
