Table Of Content

Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana:

                          “Swachh Indhan, Behtar Jeevan “

Introduction

In a bid to combat the possible health hazard due to poor air quality (like smoke), especially in the rural sector and among the rural section of the society i.e. BPL Prime Minister NARENDRA D. MODI launched the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana in Ballia, Uttar Pradesh on 1st May 2016 with the tagline of “Swachh Indhan, Behtar Jeevan”and subsequently the scheme was launched on 15.05.2016 in Dahod (Gujarat) by Hon’ble MOS(I/C) MOP&NG and was attended by Hon’ble Chief Ministers of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. After this several state & district level launches were conducted in Srinagar (Uttarakhand), Faizabad (UP), Sambalpur (Odisha), Lucknow (UP) , Patna ( Bihar) and Shahdol (MP) which were flagged by Hon’ble MoS( I/c )P&NG and other Central and state Ministers.  The scheme’s motive is to provide free of cost LPG (cooking gas) connections to women from BPL Households. Through it, cash assistance is given to beneficiaries to get a deposit-free new connection.

The scheme aims to empower women and protect their health by shifting them revolutionary from traditional cooking based on unclean cooking fuels(firewood or charcoal) or on fossil fuels to clean cooking gas(LPG). It is first social welfare scheme implemented by Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

Need For Such a scheme.

In India, the poor have limited access to cooking gas (LPG). The spread of LPG cylinders has been predominantly in the urban and semi-urban areas with the coverage mostly in middle class and affluent households. But there are serious health hazards associated with cooking based on fossil fuels. According to WHO estimates, about 5 lakh deaths in India alone due to unclean cooking fuels. Most of these premature deaths were due to non-communicable diseases such as heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer. Indoor air pollution is also responsible for a significant number of acute respiratory illnesses in young children. According to experts, having an open fire in the kitchen is like burning 400 cigarettes an hour.

Providing LPG connections to BPL households will ensure universal coverage of cooking gas in the country. This measure will empower women and protect their health. It will reduce drudgery and the time spent on cooking. It will also provide employment for rural youth in the supply chain of cooking gas.

Also read https://seekhe.com/yojana/pradhan-mantri-ujjwala-yojana-in-hindi/

Aim of the scheme:

Under the scheme, five crore LPG connections are to be provided to BPL households. The identification of eligible BPL families will be made in consultation with the State Governments and the Union Territories.

BPL is a person/ household who suffers from at least one deprivation under the Socio-Economic Caste census (SECC) – 2011 (Rural) Database. For identifying urban poor, separate instructions are to be issued.

While the selection of beneficiaries would be from the BPL families only, preference would be given to SC/ST and weaker sections of society. While providing the new connections to BPL households, priority would be given to the States which have lower LPG coverage (compared to the national average) as on 1st Jan, 2016.

Release of LPG connection under this Scheme shall be in the name of the women belonging to the BPL family.

The Scheme provides a financial support of Rs1600 for each LPG connection to the BPL households. The administrative cost of Rs.1600 per connection, which includes a cylinder, pressure regulator, booklet, safety hose, etc. would be borne by the Government.

How to apply for the scheme:

• A woman of the BPL household, which does not have access to LPG connection may apply for a new LPG connection (in the prescribed format) to the LPG distributor

Click here to download the form :  http://www.pmujjwalayojana.com/download.html

• While submitting the application form, the woman will submit details, like

1. Address,

2. Jandhan/ Bank Account and

3. Aadhar number (if the Aadhar number is not available, enrolment no. is accepted)

• The LPG Field officials will match the application against SECC – 2011 database and, after ascertaining their BPL status, enter the details (name, address etc.) into a dedicated OMC Web portal through a login/ password given by the OMCs.

 

• OMCs will undertake electronically the de-duplication exercise and other measures for due diligence for a new LPG connection.

 

• The connection shall be issued by the OMC to the eligible beneficiaries (after completion of various stages above).

 

• While the connection charges would be borne by the Government, the OMCs would provide an option for the new consumer to opt for EMIs, if she so desires, to cover the cost of a cooking stove and first refill. The EMI amount may be recovered by the OMCs from the subsidy amount due to the consumer on each refill; In case the State Government or a voluntary organization or an individual wishes to contribute the cost of a stove and/or first refill, they would be free to do so in coordination with the OMCs. However, this would be under the overall umbrella of PMUY and no other Scheme name/ tagline would be allowed without express approval of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoP&NG).

• OMCs will also organize Melas‘ at various locations for release of connections to BPL families. This will be done in the presence of public representatives and distinguished personalities of the area.

 

• The scheme will cover BPL families under all forms of distributorship and for various sizes of cylinders (like 14.2 kg, 5 kg, etc.) depending on the field situation.

 

• Benefits under Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana has been extended to people of all Hilly States including NE States by treating them as ‘Priority States’. This step will effectively address the difficulty faced by poor people residing in the States of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Tripura in accessing LPG for cooking purposes.

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CONCLUSION:

Owing to the importance of this vital welfare scheme,the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved to enhance target base of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) from 5 crore to 8 crore. The revised target of PMUY will be achieved by 2020 instead of 2019 with an additional allocation of Rs.4,800 crore. The decision comes in the wake of huge response to PMUY from the women particularly in rural areas and to cover such households not having LPG connection.

Besides, expanding target base of scheme, Cabinet also approved proposal to expand scheme to cover all SC/ST households, beneficiaries of Antyoday Anna Yojana (AAY), PMAY (Gramin), forest dwellers, most backward classes (MBC), Tea and Ex-Tea Garden Tribes, people residing in Islands and rivers etc. in addition to SECC identified households. This move will address practical difficulty faced in implementation of PMUY, namely, targeting genuinely poor households left out of Socio Economic Caste Survey (SECC) list.

Therefore, the scheme focused on:

1.Safety of health and efficiency-safe, instant and reliable source of energy

2.Environment: – reduce AIR POLLUTION

3.Economic Development – provide employment especially in rural sector

4.Women empowerment

5.Social upliftment

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