Statement of Minister On PMUY Failure In Odisha Misleading: Dharmendra

Bhubaneswar: Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday said that the statement of the state Food Supply and Consumer Welfare Minister Surya Patro on the failure of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) in Odisha is misleading.

In a letter to Patro, the Union Minister said about 70 per cent families have refilled their LPG cylinders within a year under PMUY of which 4.2 lakh families have refilled their cylinders for the fourth time during the period. Under this scheme, 35.22 lakh families have been provided with LPG connection till December this year.

“Besides, as against 19 lakh LPG connections in Odisha in 2014, the number has gone up to 72.5 lakh in 2018. In terms of percentage, the LPG connections in Odisha have gone up to 69 per cent from 22 per cent during the period,” he added.

Stating that the Centre has provided subsidy to the tune of Rs 326.22 per cylinder to reduce the financial burden of the poor people, he hoped that his letter would allay Patro’s apprehension and he will extend his cooperation on behalf of the state government to make the scheme successful in the state.

It may be noted, that Patro, in a letter to the Union Minister on Thursday had said that due to the exorbitant cost of LPG refilling, the number of people who had availed the scheme three months ago has come down from 36 lakh to 8 lakh and now the number has slumped to about 6 lakh. This is a clear indication that the poor people have no paying capacity to get refilled cylinders.

He had also said that the Union Minister has been misled by officials of the oil companies who have given him wrong information about the performance of PMUY in Odisha.