As many as 25 lakh poor families in Chhattisgarh will be provided domestic LPG connections in next two years at nominal charges under the ambitious 'Ujjwala scheme' launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a state government official said today.
These connections will be in the name of women members and around one crore families will get benefited by the scheme, he the official added.
"Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan had green signalled the proposal of the state government in this regard during a high-level meeting here yesterday," the official spokesperson said.
Chief minister Raman Singh and senior state officials were present during the meeting chaired by Pradhan.
The Union Minister also sanctioned establishment of a regional office for Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL) in Raipur.
The chief minister has directed the officials to prepare a work plan for the implementation of 'Ujjwala scheme' in the state on war-footing.
Pradhan expressed happiness that Chhattisgarh is the first state in the country which has come forward for implementation the scheme.
Under the scheme, the Central government will provide the LPG connections and gas regulator, while the state government will provide gas oven and the cost of first cylinder. In Chhattisgarh also, the state government will bear the cost of oven and first cylinder which will add a burden of Rs 300 crore on the state exchequer, the official said.
The Union minister also asked Singh to initiate a mapping process for existing petrol pumps in the state so that new pumps could be sanctioned in areas where there is a requirement.
Pradhan also discussed about the gas pipeline project
being laid between Surat (Gujarat) and Paradeep (Odisha) which will pass through Chhattisgarh, the official said.
In a separate programme, the Chhattisgarh government yesterday signed an MoU with Bharat Petroleum Corporation limited (BPCL) for setting up a new 44,000 tonnes per annum LPG bottling plant in the state, the spokesperson said.
The proposed investment in the plant, which will come up in Khapri village under Tilda tehsil of Raipur district will be about Rs 74 crore, he said.
The Chhattisgarh State Industrial Development Corporation (CSIDC) has already allotted a land measuring 25.50 acres to BPCL for the project, he said.
Moreover, this plant will contribute in implementation of the Ujjwala scheme, he further said.
The government, being committed to ensure gas supply for domestic and industrial purpose, has taken a focused approach to establish piped gas infrastructure in the state.
To establish an effective and optimal gas infrastructure, the state has already signed an MOU with IOCL (Indian Oil Corporation Ltd) for developing piped gas infrastructure, he added.
