Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan today handed over the Seven Croreth LPG connection under the Pradhan MantriUjjwalaYojana (PMUY). Under the scheme, deposit free LPG connection is provided to a poor household and the connection is released in the name of an adult woman. The scheme was launched on 1st May, 2016 by Hon’ble Prime Minister with an initial target of five crores, which was later revised upward to eight crores connections.The Seven Croreth connection has been released within just 34 months of the scheme’s launch, which is a spectacular achievement for the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. Nearly 69,000 connections are being released per day.There has been huge jump in the LPG coverage in the country, having gone up from 55% in 2014 to 93%. 42% of the total beneficiaries belong to SC/ST. As per the recent data, 82% PMUY beneficiaries are going for refilling their cylinder and average refilling is about 6.5 cylinders per beneficiary.Congratulating the women beneficiaries, Sh Pradhan said that they have been the main driving force behind this accomplishment.
He said the Government has not only provided connection to the poor, but also distributed happiness to them. The scheme was launched with the identification from the SECC list, but was subsequently expanded to cover all the poor of the country. Lauding the efforts of Oil Marketing Companies, distributors, Field level Officers and all the stakeholders, he said due to their contribution, the Government could achieve the milestone of 7 crore within such a short time. The Minister said that the Government followed the principle of Sabkasathsabkavikas, and all the poor of the country are now eligible to get PMUY connection.Sh Pradhan said that 6800 new distributorships have been given to strengthen rural LPG supply chain. The common Service Centres have also been roped in to assist in the LPG booking and distribution. He said that the Government has also undertaken steps to strengthen the infrastructure to provide the clean and affordable fuel- Gas. He mentioned that recent laying of the Foundation stone by the Prime Minister of 9000 Crore rupee Gorakhpur-Kandla LPG pipeline is a step in this direction.