Minister for Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs (FCS&CA), Chowdhary Zulfkar Ali, today said the State Government is committed to work for empowerment of women and is taking various initiatives in this regard.The Minister said this while launching Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) at Leh. He said that the project is aimed to save women from health hazards of traditional Chulaas by providing free LPG to the women living below the poverty line. He said the department will conduct survey to identify leftover families and include them in PMUY-Plus scheme.He said PMUY-Plus will benefit all those women who come from lower economic strata and will provide relief to those who are not figured in the PMUY beneficiaries list.Mr. Zulfkar said that about 8 lakh women will be covered under the scheme in the first phase till 2018 and said one lakh LPG connections will be given in the current month. He said the Department has already distributed 60,000 connections in the State and remaining 40,000 will be distributed till the end of this month.Terming PMUY as pro-women and pro-poor scheme, he said Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti is committed for welfare of women folk and the scheme will fulfill her desire as it is beneficial for poor women who are still using unclean fuel for cooking purposes.
The Minister informed about the Government’s new proposals which include opening of HPCL Depot and storage shed at Leh under Corporate Social Responsibility by Indian Oil, opening of Medical Emergency Centre at Khardong-la top and two blocks of toilet in Leh town.CEC, LAHDC Dr. Sonam Dawa Lonpo, EC CA&PD Tsering Sangdup, EC Animal Husbandry Mumtaz Hussain, Tassaduq Jeelani Director Department of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Kashmir, Nissan Ahmed Wani Special Secretary FCS&CA, Moiziz Kunzang ADC Leh, Manager BPCL, Joint Controller and Technical Officer Legal Metrology Department, Deputy Director Ladakh Supplies FCSCA, State Level Coordinator of Indian Oil Corporation Limited, Senior Manager HPCL, Senior Manager HPCL Petrol, Manager LPG Kashmir -Leh, Assistant Director FCSCA Leh, Plant Manager Leh and others were also present on the occasion.