Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has given an assurance that his ministry would improve availability of petroleum products like LPG and CNG in Telangana.
"We are providing LPG connections under Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana in the state and also improve availability of other petroleum products in Telangana," Pradhan said after meeting Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya here to discuss the issue.
The Ujjwala Scheme provides a financial support of Rs 1,600 for each LPG connection to BPL households.
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The identification of eligible BPL families are made in consultation with the states and the union territories. This scheme is being implemented over three years till 2018-19.
In his representation to Pradhan, Dattatreya sought LPG concession under the Ujjwala scheme to BPL families to reduce dependence on forest for fire wood, improve their health status, remove drudgery due to conventional cooking and improve the general environment in the state.
He further asked Pradhan to open sufficient number of CNG outlets at Warangal and Greater Hyderabad in view of increase in number of CNG-run vehicles, especially auto-rickshaws.
"Currently, India consumes around 120 million standard
cubic metres per day (mmscmd) of gas, of which 60 per cent is consumed by power and fertiliser sectors. With all our policy initiatives, planned infrastructure investments and global fall in gas prices, we expect the gas consumption to double in India in the next 5 years to 240 mmscmd," Pradhan said.
The government, he said, is looking at providing piped natural gas in households in all large cities of the country.
"The government plans to connect 10 million households to PNG (piped natural gas) network in the next three years. 35 new cities have been approved for city gas distributors (CGD) in the last two years," he said.
Stating that India faces dual challenge of greenhouse gases and local pollution, he said use of natural gas will help mitigate both of them.
"India has committed to improve its carbon footprint and while improving standards of living by providing universal access to energy," the minister said, adding that emission intensity will be reduced by 33-35 per cent by 2030, compared with 2005 levels.
Also, 175 gigawatt of renewable energy will be added by 2022.
Creation of five million hectares of forest and improving quality of a similar area will help absorb 2.5-3 gigatonnes of carbon from atmosphere, he said.
"The government is determined to increase use of CNG and introduce use of LNG in the transport sector," he said. "It would not be far stretched to imagine that in future 25 per cent of India's transport fuel requirements can be met from CNG and LNG sources.
