Lok Sabha Question No. 362 (STARRED), answered on 2019-01-07
Subject: Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana
Ministry: PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS
Asked by: MALLIKARJUN  KHARGE

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 362 TO BE ANSWERED ON  7 th  JANUARY, 2019

Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana

*362. SHRI MALLIKARJUN KHARGE: पेट्रोलियम एवं प्राक ृ लिक गैस मंत्री Will the Minister of PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS be pleased to state: (a) whether the beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) are not shifting from biomass to LPG because of very high price of installing a connection and long waiting time to get a refill for an empty LPG cylinder; (b) if so, the details thereof and the reaction of the Government thereto; and (c) the measures taken/being taken by the Government to achieve the objectives of PMUY? ANSWER पेट्रोलियम एवं प्राक ृ लिक गैस मंत्री ( श्री धमेन्द्र प्रधान ) MINISTER OF  PETROLEUM  AND NATURAL GAS (SHRI  DHARMENDRA PRADHAN) (a)  to  (c) A statement is laid on the Table of the House

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## STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (c)  OF  THE  LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 362 BY SHRI MALLIKARJUN KHARGE TO BE  ANSWERED  ON  7 TH   JANUARY,  2019  REGARDING    'PRADHAN  MANTRI

UJJWALA YOJANA'. (a) & (b) Use of conventional cooking fuels such as fire wood, cow dung, coal etc. cause indoor air pollution and result in adverse health impact on the users.   Considering  the  difficulty  faced  by  poor  household in  getting  a  LPG connection on account of initial high cost of getting a connection and to promote use of  clean  cooking  fuel  by  poor  households,  Government  launched  Pradhan  Mantri Ujjwala  (PMUY)  through  which  a  deposit  free  LPG  connection  is  given  to  a  poor family.  Under PMUY, 8 crore poor families are being provided with LPG connections and so far 6 crore connections have been released. In order to address the issue of easy access and availability of LPG to poor families living especially in rural areas, Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) have undertaken massive LPG network expansion drive  in  recent  years.   From  April  2014  onwards,  more  than  eight  thousand  new distributorships have been added by OMCs and nearly three thousand distributorships are at various stages of commissioning. OMCs have informed that so far  beneficiaries  of  Ujjwala  have  purchased  more  than  23  crore  LPG  refills.   The number of refills purchased by the beneficiaries is indicative of the fact that users are shifting  from  use  of  Biomass  to  LPG  for  cooking  purposes.  The  beneficiaries  of PMUY also receive subsidy through PAHAL scheme. (c) The  important  steps  taken  to  achieve  the  objective  of  adaption  and  use  of LPG by poor households, sustained basis include : (i)  Relaxation in eligibility criteria by including all left out poor families. (ii) Prospective PMUY beneficiary has the options to take LPG connection with either 14.2 kg cylinder or 5 kg. Moreover, the existing PMUY beneficiary has been given an option to opt for a double 5 kg cylinder connection instead of 14.2 kg connection. (iii) Launching of Pradhan Mantri LPG Panchayat to sensitise the rural LPG users on subjects like safe usage of LPG. (iv) Audio visual media campaign on advantages of use of LPG. (v) SMS campaign for beneficiaries  who have not comeback for refill. (vi) Display campaign by way of banners, standees and hoardings at public places. (vii)Consumer  awareness  activities  viz.  School/college  student  level  education programmes,  quizzes,  drawing  competitions,  nukkad  nataks,  walkathon,  cyclothon etc.