MP announces Rs 1 lakh to first village to be declared smoke-free

Ten crore households in the country do not have LPG connections. In the last 15 months, LPG connections under Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) have been distributed to 2.56 crore households free of cost, MP Nalin Kumar Kateel said. In the next 36 months, LPG connections, along with stove and safety pipe, will be distributed to five crore households in the country, he said.

The MP was speaking at a convention of beneficiaries of Ujjwala scheme at Bantwal on Sunday.

In Dakshina Kannada district, LPG connections will be given to 44,000 beneficiaries through 46 distributors. Already, connections have been given to 4,200 households, MP Kateel said.

The representatives of the distributors, officials and local volunteers will visit the households to identify the beneficiaries who have been left out of the scheme, thereby help in making the district free of smoke.

Kateel announced Rs 1 lakh cash for the first village to be declared free of smoke, on the occasion.

He said that under Mudra scheme, young entrepreneurs have been given loan of Rs 2,800 crore in the district. Women entrepreneurs have been given loan of Rs 1 crore.

MLC Kota Srinivas Poojary accused the state government of announcing various ‘bhagya’ (schemes) with the amount released by the central government.

MLA S Angara said that owning a LPG connection was a matter of luxury in the past and the poor could not dream of it. It was during the period of the then prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, the LPG connections were provided to many.