The Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) has done a massive capacity enhancement of Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) production in the northeast investing to the tune of Rs. 700 crore.
Chief General Manager of the IOCL’s Assam Oil Division (AOD), Uttiya Bhattacharyya said this on Friday and added that the IOCL was also planning to expand its distribution network to cater to the need of the people of the region.
He said that as of now the LPG production capacity of IOCL’s AOD was 567,000 MT per annum.
He said that the IOCL already had 800 distributors in the northeastern states and added that advertisement has already been issued to appoint about 200 more distributors. “Majority of this will, however, be in Assam,” he added.
He said that post approval of Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) to expand the beneficiary list under Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), Indian Oil in a meeting with key officials pan-North East, developed a blueprint to ensure hassle-free release of LPG connections to all eligible beneficiaries.
“It should be our endeavor that every kitchen in the country is smoke-free and healthy with easy access to LPG. With our sustained efforts, LPG coverage in the North East has improved to 78 per cent on December 1 this year from 48 percent on May 1, 2017,”he said adding that 29 lakh LPG connections have been released in just a span of 19 months.
“Now we should aim to achieve universal LPG coverage as clean cooking fuel and encourage its sustained use, which is also the objective of PMUY,” he added.
He said that LPG business in the North East started in the year 1971. Since then till May 1,2017, total of 48 lakh LPG connections could be released. Due to PMUY launched by the PM of India on May 1, 2016 at Balia, UP and subsequently launched in the NE on May 13, 2017 at Assam, the PSU Oil companies have released 33 lakh connections in the North Eastern states,” he said adding that Indian Oil is privileged to serve its customers by releasing 27 lakh connections.