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Centre relaxes rules to free provide cooking gas to migrant workers under Ujjwala 2.0

Along with deposit-free access to LPG supplies, the beneficiaries will be given a stove free of cost
Last Updated 10 August 2021, 14:51 IST

The Centre has relaxed rules to include migrant workers in one of its flagship schemes that provides deposit free access to cooking gas cylinders to poor households.

Announcing the concessions from poll-bound Uttar Pradesh, which accounts for the country’s largest number of inter-state migrant workers, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said migrant labourers simply have to declare where they live rather than having to provide proof of their address to obtain supplies. Along with deposit-free access to LPG supplies, the beneficiaries will be given a stove free of cost.

Under the scheme, the first gas cylinder is free but consumers have to pay for subsequent cylinders.

The Prime Minister noted that the resolve of health, convenience and empowerment of sisters has received great impetus from Ujjwala Yojana.

In the first phase of the scheme, 8 crore poor, Dalit, deprived, backward and tribal families were given free gas connections.

“The benefit of this free gas connection was felt in the era of the Corona pandemic. Ujjawala Yojana has led to manifold expansion of LPG gas infrastructure. During the last 6-7 years more than 11,000 LPG distribution centres have been opened. In UP the number of these centres increased to 4,000 from 2,000 in 2014. We are very near the cent per cent gas coverage as during the last 7 years more gas connections have been given than were there in 2014,” Modi said announcing the scheme.

Many, he continued, from all over UP and other states including Bundelkhand, migrated from village to city or to other states for work. There they face the problem of address proof. He said that Ujjwala 2.0 scheme will give maximum benefit to lakhs of such families. He added that now these workers from other places need not run from pillar to post for address proof. He said the government has full faith in the honesty of the migrant workers. All one has to do is give a self-declaration of the address for getting a gas connection.

Modi also said that efforts are on to provide gas through pipes at a much larger scale. He said PNG is much cheaper than cylinder and work is on to provide PNG in many districts of eastern India including in UP. In the first phase, a target has been to connect 12 lakh households in more than 50 districts of UP.

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(Published 10 August 2021, 07:52 IST)

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