ITANAGAR, Jun 5: LPG connections under the Prime Minister’s Ujwala Yojana (PMUY) have been provided to around 8995 individual households in Arunachal Pradesh so far, out of the targeted 10,000.
This was informed by the Indian Oil Corporation’s Assam Oil Division (IOC-AOD) Chief General Manager (CGM) Uttiya Bhattacharya during a meeting with Chief Minister Pema Khandu here on Tuesday.
Giving details of the IOC’s presence and services in the state, Bhattacharya said, besides running commercial outlets of petroleum products, the PSU is engaged in providing LPG connections under the PMUY to the rural poor under the central government’s Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (GSA).
More than 6000 villages are being covered under the programme in the North East, the CGM said, adding that the IOC will provide LPG connections to about 299 villages in Arunachal Pradesh.
“Arunachal Pradesh is one of the highest consumers of LPG in the region and also the only state, after Assam, to give additional subsidy for connection to the beneficiaries,” he said.
The IOC has a bottling plant in Kimin in Papum Pare district, which, along with 66 other distributors, caters to the state’s requirements, he said, adding that several more IOC bottling plants are “under process of allotment.”
The CGM assured the chief minister that there would not be any scarcity of LPG in the state.
“On the request of the state government, the IOC has posted a permanent officer and a state level coordinator in the state capital, who will coordinate with the state government and other stakeholders on behalf of the PSU,” he said.
When requested by the chief minister to establish more petroleum depots in the state, especially in far-flung areas, Bhattacharya and his officials informed that the IOC, which has 80% of the share of depots in Arunachal, currently has 55 outlets across the state while 16 more are in various stages of commencing.
He said the PSU can “immediately” open petrol pumps wherever the government feels they are necessary, provided the government offers the minimum required plots for the purpose.
“The IOC’s main depot in Doimukh is being expanded, which is now connected by broad gauge and can cater to as many outlets as needed,” he said.
The chief minister asked the civil supplies department to locate government land in the districts, which can be offered to the IOC to immediately open their outlets.
He gave assurance that the state government, through the department concerned, will keep in touch with the IOC to ease distribution of LPG and other petroleum products like diesel, petrol and kerosene.
Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein, Civil Supplies Minister Kamlung Mossang, the civil supplies secretary, and departmental officers were present during the meeting. (CMO)
