Government has launched the second phase of the Ujjwala gas connection scheme for the poor
It would provide the biggest relief to lakhs of migrant worker families in the country.
Now migrant workers would only be required to submit a self-declaration of their residential address to get the gas connection.
Pradhan Mantri Ujjawala Scheme:
Under this scheme, 5 crore connections are to be provided to the people needing them.
BPL families will be offered a support of Rs.1600 per connection. This is for the cylinder, booklet, pressure regulator, safety hose, etc. and will be borne by the government itself.
Apart from these, the scheme also provides interest-free loans to buy stove and refill by oil marketing companies.
The connections would be given in the name of women of the households.
An initial outlay of Rs.8000 crore was sanctioned for the implementation of the scheme.
The authorities would identify BPL families based on the Socio Economic Caste Census data.
Target of Pradhan Mantri UjjwalaYojana (PMUY) has been enhanced from five crore to eight crore.
Success of Ujjwala Scheme:
Usage pattern of PMUY customers who have been in the system for a year or more and have been buying four or more cylinders a year.
Users focus on the value that LPG generates for them and not on its cost.
customers are able to devote more time towards children, the elderly and sick, along with reduced drudgery and gains in health.
It has also witnessed the emergence of a peer learning platform: the Pradhan Mantri LPG Panchayat.
LPG penetration in India has risen from 56% in 2014 to 90%.
Women are engaging in economic opportunities leading to income generation rather than engaging in non-remunerative work of collecting fodder.
It is also helping in reducing indoor air pollutions.
CAG reports/Concerns:
Risk of diversion of domestic LPG cylinders for commercial use, as 1.98 lakh beneficiaries had an average annual consumption of more than 12 cylinders.
The oil marketing companies had issued 7.19 crore connections, which is about 90% of the target to be achieved until March 2020.
Out of 3.78 crore LPG connections, 1.60 crore (42%) connections were issued only on the basis of beneficiary Aadhaar which remained a deterrent in de-duplication.
Laxity in identification of beneficiaries.
Lack of input validation check in the IOCL software allowed issue of 0.80 lakh connections to beneficiaries aged below 18.
59 lakh connections were released to beneficiaries who were minor as per the SECC-2011 data, which was in violation of PMUY guidelines and LPG Control Order, 2000.
Mismatch in the name of 12.46 lakh beneficiaries between the PMUY database and SECC-2011 data.
Connections were given to “unintended” persons.
Delay of more than 365 days in the installation of 4.35 lakh connections against the stipulated time period of seven days.