The United Progressive Alliance government has launched an ambitious programme for providing subsidised LPG connections to below poverty line families.
The programme was launched as a pilot project by Minister of State for Petroleum Jitin Prasada in his Dhaurehra parliamentary constituency in Kheri district of Uttar Pradesh on Saturday at a function held at Maigalganj town.
Prasada distributed LPG connections to the heads of 100 selected BPL families at highly subsidised rates.
Speaking at a function to commemorate the occasion, he said that the scheme will be rolled out on a country-wide basis by the oil PSUs from Gandhi Jayanti (14th November).
“The Centre has earmarked a budget of Rs 490 crore for the programme, while 2,86,607 BPL families are to be benefitted from the programme,” he said.
He said the programme has evoked a warm response in Kheri, where at the very initial stage, over 80,000 applications were received.
“After proper scrutiny and verification by the authorities, eligible families would be awarded LPG connections,” he said.
Prasada called upon the UP government to properly implement the programme to benefit the poor.