Port Blair, Oct 24: The Lt. Governor, Prof. Jagdish Mukhi today launched Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), an ambitious scheme of the Central Govt, in Andaman & Nicobar Islands. PMUY was launched by Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi on May 1st 2016 in Ballia, Uttar Pradesh with the main aim ‘Swacch Indhan- Behtar Jeevan’. Under this scheme, 5 crore LPG connections will be provided to women of BPL households with a support of Rs. 1600 per connection in the next 3 years.
At a function organized by the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) in the Ambedkar Auditorium, Port Blair, the Lt Governor lit the traditional oil lamp & also handed over the replica of LPG cylinders to some women beneficiaries marking the launch of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana in Isles. The Member of Parliament, Shri Bishnu Pada Ray, the Chief Secretary i/c, Shri Raajiv Yaduvanshi, Adhyaksh Zila Parishad South Andaman, Shri Jaydeep Kumar Dey, Chairperson, PBMC, Shri B. Eshwar Rao, the GM, IOC West Bengal State Office, Shri Ranjan Mahapatra also joined the Lt Governor in handing over the LPG cylinder replicas to these beneficiaries.
Addressing the gathering, the Lt. Governor stated that the PMUY scheme is aimed at replacing the unclean cooking fuels mostly used in the rural areas, with the clean and more efficient Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG). Appreciating the visionary thinking of the Prime Minister, the Lt Governor said, all the schemes launched by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi is targeted to benefit the poorest of the poor, downtrodden, oppressed and people from the lowest levels in the society. He said, this scheme is aimed at empowering women and protecting their health.
Pointing at the delayed launch of this scheme in these Islands, the Lt Governor urged the GM IOC to revise the target to cover the 15000 identified BPL beneficiaries by May, 2018 without fail. “These Islands have about 98,262 families out of which 77,363 are LPG connection holders. By May 2018, no family should be left without an LPG connection”, he said, urging the concerned authorities to ensure 100 percent LPG coverage in Isles on a fast track basis. The Lt Governor said, there cannot be a better scheme for women’s empowerment than this as under this scheme, LPG connection will be provided only to the women who are the head of the family. Quoting a report of the WHO, the Lt Governor said, the smoke inhaled by women from unclean fuel is equivalent to burning 400 cigarettes, in an hour. Under the Ujjwala Yojana, the Lt Governor said, the family will have a smoke free & clean environment thus their better health can be ensured.
The Lt Governor also urged the IOC officials to take some safety measures while implementing the scheme in these Islands. He said, there may be cases of single room accommodation of the BPL families without separate kitchen. The IOC should not only consider such cases, but also ensure safety of the family while providing connections. IOC must also depute their employees to train the families about how to use LPG and also ensure that no middleman creeps into the process to take undue benefit. The IOC authorities must also handle the situation where the BPL families are reluctant to switch over from fire wood to LPG source of cooking. The Lt Governor desired that those families covered under this scheme should continue to use the benefit of this scheme of the Central Govt. In this regard, the Lt. Governor called upon the employees, social workers, political parties, and other organizations to enlighten people about the benefit of the LPG source of cooking and ensure that they are regular and stick to the LPG mode of cooking. The Lt Governor concluded his speech by saying that the scheme will bring prosperity to the BPL families and realize the dream of the Prime Minister to bring a phenomenal change in the lives of the women who have been sacrificing their lives by using firewood.
In his address as the guest of honour, the Member of Parliament, Shri Bishnu Pada Ray lauded the ambitious scheme of the Central Govt. to provide LPG connection to BPL women beneficiaries. He said as per the socio-economic survey conducted in the year 2011, about 14,918 BPL families were identified and these families will be covered under the PMUY scheme. He urged the IOC to cover all the beneficiaries and declare these Islands 100 percent covered under PMUY. The Member of Parliament also requested the IOC to appoint 5 new LPG distributors, one each at Rangat, Mayabunder, Baratang, Bhatubasti and Prothrapur as promised by the Petroleum Minister, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan during his visit to these Islands in the month of May 2016. He also urged the IOC to strengthen and help the CCS, the distributor of LPG in Southern group of Islands, to further maintain regular supply of the LPG cylinders in that tough area due to its geographical location. Appreciating the IOC for providing the diesel pump bunker free of cost to the Fisheries Federation of Dairy Farm for the first time in the history of these islands, the MP urged for speedy installation of the bunker.
The function concluded with the vote of thanks proposed by the Terminal Manager IOC, Shri Prakash Tiru.
