West Bengal among top states in LPG connections’ release under PMUY

Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) is the most ambitious scheme launched by Honourable Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi. 

This scheme has been launched with a target of providing 1.5 crore gas connections to the women of poor families in the current financial year. The target of distributing 1.5 crore connections has been achieved within a period of 8 months across the nation. 

The PMUY scheme, aims at replacing the unclean cooking fuels like kerosene mostly used in the rural India with the clean and more efficient LPG.

Shri R K Mohapatra, General Manager (West Bengal State Office) IndianOil, who is also the State Level Coordinator for Oil PSUs, informed on behalf of all Oil PSUs operating from State of West Bengal that West Bengal is amongst the Top States in India to have benefitted from PMUY scheme. 

He added that till date Oil PSUs in West Bengal have released approximately 19.5 lakhs LPG connections to women of Below Poverty Line (BPL) families after the launch of the Scheme in the State on eve of Independence Day 2016 by Honourable Minister of State, Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan.

The top five states with the highest number of PMUY connections are Uttar Pradesh (46 lakh), West Bengal (19.5 lakh), Bihar (19 lakh), MadhyaPradesh (17 lakh) and Rajasthan (14 lakh). 

It is noteworthy that with the implementation of PMUY, the national LPG coverage has increased from 61 per cent (as on January 1, 2016) to 70 per cent (as on December 1, 2016).

Shri Mohapatra added that the success would not have been possible but for the relentless efforts of the Oil PSUs reseller network who have worked day and night working in the far flung villages to collect the KYC (Know Your Customers) forms from eligible BPL families. 

Elaborating on the modus operandi, he highlighted that the beneficiaries are given the connections in a PMUY Melas, where along with providing connections under PMUY scheme, safety films are being shown for the safe usuage of LPG and equipments to the beneficiaries.

 The connections are being installed by trained mechanics at every beneficairy’s home.

For proper implementation of the PMUY scheme in such a massive scale in the State, more than 200 trainings were organised for delivery boys, showroom staff and mechanics as well as distributors for providing the connections to the PMUY beneficiary as per SOP.  

Moreover, around 9500 trainings have been organised in West Bengal for the beneficiaries for understanding about the PMUY scheme and how to use the LPG safely. Street plays were planned in every block conveying and demonstrating safe usage and handling of LPG and showcasing the PMUY scheme. 

10 districts have been covered till date around 150 nos of street plays have also been conducted in the state. 

Industry officials are randomly visiting the beneficiary’s premises to take the feedback from the customers about the scheme and the service being provided by the LPG distributors.

Further, Mr Mohapatra added that to ease providing connection and refill payments after the demonetization, all the LPG distributors are in the process of installing MPOS and e-wallets like PayTm, Freecharge, MobiKwik, Oxigen,Jio etc. 

Till date around 30 LPG distributors in West Bengal have installed MPOS and more than 300 distributors have started e-wallets facility for the customers.