A mega Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) awareness camp-cum-safety clinic was organised at DN Himatsingka High School field in Kokrajhar coinciding with the International Women’s Day on Thursday.
Forest and Environment Minister Pramila Rani Brahma attended the programme as the Chief Guest. LPG connections were also distributed to a number of beneficiaries on the occasion.
Forest and Environment Minister Brahma said Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana is a welfare programme of the government of India, which was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with an aim at replacing the unclean cooking fuels mostly used in the rural India with the clean and more efficient LPG so that they don’t have to compromise with their health in smoky kitchens or wander in unsafe areas collecting firewood.
Senior officials from Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) including the General Manager (designate) Saurav Chaliha and officials from the Food and Civil Supply Department were also present in the programme.
The Central government has provided an additional allocation of Rs 4,800 crore the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) and the enhanced the target of beneficiaries under scheme to eight crore from five crore, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan said on February 9.
Union Minister Pradhan also informed that nearly 80 per cent of the beneficiaries availing the Ujjwala scheme refilled their LPG cylinders, with their average family consumption being 4.07 cylinders per year.
Against the overall annual consumption per family at 7 cylinders per year, the usage rate for Ujjwala beneficiaries is encouraging, the Union Minister said.