Question : Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana

(a) the salient features of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) along with targets fixed/achieved and the number of gas connections provided under the said scheme since its inception including funds allocated/utilised thereunder, State/UTwise including Gujarat;
(b) whether the Government proposes to enlarge/enhance the target of coverage under PMUY and if so, the details thereof along with the steps taken/ proposed to be taken by the Government in this regard, State/UT-wise including Kerala;
(c) whether the Government proposes to create infrastructure/launch any portal to bring transparency in the distribution of gas under PMUY and if so, the details thereof, State/UT-wise including Bihar; and
(d) the number of complaints regarding distribution/delay in providing gas connection to BPL families under PMUY received by the Government since inception of the scheme along with action taken against erring persons/distributors including constitution of any committee for redressal of such complaints to bring transparency in this regard, State/UT-wise including Bihar?

MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) IN THE MINISTRY OF PETROLEUM & NATURAL GAS (SHRI DHARMENDRA PRADHAN)
(a) & (b) With a view to provide LPG connections to poor households, Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana(PMUY) was launched by the Government. Under PMUY, 5 crore new LPG connections to the women belonging to the Below Poverty Line (BPL) families over a period of three years starting from Financial Year 2016-17 are being released. The Salient features of the PMUY Scheme are as under :-
(i) LPG connection is released in the name of adult woman of the BPL family, subject to the condition that no LPG connection exists in the name of any family member of the household.
(ii) Eligible families are identified through the Socio Economic Caste Census (SECC) 2011.
(iii) The scheme covers the cash assistance upto Rs 1600/- for providing new LPG connection and this cash assistance is provided by the Central Government.
(iv) The customer bears the cost of Hot Plate and purchase of first refill. The customers have option to take Hot Plate on purchase of first refill or both on loan basis from OMCs at zero interest and the same is recovered through EMIs. Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) have released more than 1.98 crore new LPG connections against the target of 1.5 crore during the Financial Year 2016-17. As on 12.07.2017, OMCs have released 52.53 lakh new LPG connections against target of 1.5 crore for the Financial Year 2017-18. The Government has made provision of Rs. 2500 crore in the Financial year 2017-18 and so far Rs. 800 crore (approx) has been re-imbursed to OMCs in lieu of releasing LPG connection under Scheme. Further, Rs. 2500 crore was utilised during Financial Year 2016-17. States/UTs-wise connections released under PMUY is endorsed in Annexure. (c) OMCs have launched a website namely www.pmujjwalayojana.com specially designated for PMUY Scheme. On which consumers can know about the Scheme, download form, know-how to apply for the connection, etc. A dedicated toll-free number 18002666696 has been set up to take enquiries, complaints and suggestions related to PMUY. Customer can also register their grievances online by
visiting websites of OMCs, Public Grievance Portal of Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, Social Media platforms, Facebook, Tweeter, MoPNG e-Seva of the Ministry.
(d) As and when complaints/grievances are received, same are forwarded to concerned Oil Marketing Companies(OMCs) for taking necessary action.
OMC officials carry out inspections of LPG distributors to check operations of the distributorship in line with guidelines. In all established cases of irregularities by distributorships, action is taken against the concerned distributors as per Marketing Discipline Guidelines/Distributorship Agreement.
During Financial Year 2016-17, OMCs have taken actions against LPG distributorships in 50 established case of irregularities observed in PMUY releases.