Dharmendra Pradhan launches Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana in Assam

Guwahati: The Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) was launched in Assam by Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan on Saturday, a year after the scheme was set in motion first in Uttar Pradesh.[caption id=“attachment_2115959” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Image courtesy PIB[/caption] The launch of PMUY was delayed in Assam due to certain technical reasons and though Aadhar Card was mandatory to avail the benefit of this scheme, it was relaxed in the state following a request from the chief minister, Pradhan said. The PMUY was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 1 May, 2016 in Ballia, Uttar Pradesh. Under this scheme, five crore LPG connections will be provided to BPL families and those will be issued in the name of women of the families. “The Centre will give a support of Rs 1,600 per connection within March, 2019 and Assam government will also provide Rs 1,000 per PMUY connection to the beneficiaries, which shall make LPG connection more affordable,” he said. Around 90 percent of BPL families who do not have LPG connection would be covered through PMUY and other government schemes within March, 2019, Pradhan said while launching the PMUY in Dibrugarh. Pradhan said that ONGC and other oil companies would carry out beautification projects in historical towns of Dibrugarh, Sivasagar and others. Oil India Ltd (OIL) would invest Rs 25 crore for development of the Kamakhya temple, he said. The petroleum ministry has taken up an exhaustive plan to develop North East at par with the rest of the country under “2030: Vision Document (Petroleum Sector)”, he said. Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said that the LPG connection would not only help the poor, but also give them a life of dignity. He thanked the Centre for releasing over Rs 7,000 crore so far in oil royalty during the past 11 months after BJP came to power in the state. The state has received around Rs 6,300 crore investment in last 11 months which would provide direct and indirect employment to around 80,000 people, Sonowal said.