Minister for Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs (FCS&CA), Chowdhary Zulfkar Ali on Monday urged the oil companies to achieve the target for providing gas connections to 2.25 lakh women beneficiaries falling under Below Poverty Line (BPL) under PMUY by the end of the year.The Minister issued these instructions during a review meeting convened with oil companies to get status of PMUY implementation across the State.The Minister was informed that since the inception of the scheme i.e. on September 28 this year, so far 1.21,743 connections have been issued across the State to the deserving beneficiaries. The companies are making all out efforts to achieve the targets well in time.Expressing satisfaction over the progress achieved in the implementation of scheme, the Minster asked the representatives of the companies to facilitate the beneficiaries strictly as per the spirit of the PMUY so that they avail the hassle-free service.
The objective of the scheme is to provide clean fuel to women falling under BPL category, who generally use unclean cooking fuels which harm their health. He said that the gas companies are aware about the status of the beneficiaries under the category, who are always short of money; hence, it is mandatory that they are provided with some kind of easy loan facility, which would encourage them to avail the benefit of the scheme hassle-free. Such loan amount from the beneficiary can be deducted subsequently from their subsidy amount. He also asked the oil companies to continue their awareness campaign regarding availing the benefit of PMUY so that the benefit of scheme reaches to every deserving person in the State. The Minister also reiterated need for streamlining home delivery mechanism so that people do not have to walk long distances while carrying their gas cylinders. He said that complaints are pouring that the gas companies are not supplies the connections at the doorstep of the consumers which is mandatory on the part of the companies. He directed the representatives to look into these complaints and address them appropriately.Secretary FCS&CA Shafiq Raina, Special Secretary FCS&CA Nisar Ahmad, Deputy Director, FCS&CA Kashmir Malik Nasrullah, Deputy Controller, Legal Metrology Department, Manoj Prabhakar, State Level Coordinator Indian Oil Corporation Hari Anupum, Senior Manager Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited Ajay Singh, along with concerned officers attended the meeting.