Question : PMUY

(a) the number of free of cost LPG connections provided to every BPL/poor household under Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) since inception along with targets fixed and achieved in the country along with estimated employment and business opportunity generated on account of the said scheme, State/UT-wise;
(b) the number of refills under PMUY done till date along with new connections applied and rejected and the reasons for rejection along with the remedial measures taken in this regard, case-wise;
(c) the State/UT-wise number of LPG connections surrendered since 2014 and the subsidy saved by the Government along with the details of LPG connections before 2014 and post-PMUY till date;
(d) the number of cases of irregularities in providing gas connection to other people in place of the intended beneficiaries under PMUY with the connivance of the officers of the oil companies/concerned distributors noticed by the Government/OMCs particularly in West Bengal till date along with the notice issued to LPG distributors and penalty imposed and action taken by the Government to resolve the cases, State/ UT/case-wise;
(e) whether many households are still deprived of LPG and have to rely on firewood, coal, dung etc. and if so, the details thereof along with measures taken by the Government to make the facility of LPG available at the door steps of every villager and ensure 100 per cent LPG coverage in the country; and
(f) whether the Government proposes to mandatorily dispense with the LPG subsidy for those having a monthly income exceeding fifty thousand rupees and if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor?

MINISTER OF PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS (SHRI DHARMENDRA PRADHAN)
(a) & (b)
Year-wise targets fixed and connections released under Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) is as under :-
Year
Target
Connections released
2016-17
1.5 crore
2 crore
2017-18
1.5 crore
1.56 core
2018-19
2 crore
1.17 crore (up to 18.7.2018)
As per the refill consumption pattern of PMUY consumers who have completed one year from the date of release of connection, average per capita consumption is found to be more than 3.5 cylinders (of 14.2 kg). State-UT-wise details of KYC filled by the prospective PMUY customers, applications cleared and LPG connections released as on 18.07.2018 under the scheme are at Annexure.
(c)
As on 18.07.2018, more than one crore LPG consumers have voluntarily surrendered their LPG subsidy under ‘GiveItUp’ campaign. Details of subsidy/under recovery on domestic LPG during the year 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2017-18 are under :-
As on 01.07.2018, there are 23.47 crore LPG consumers in the country and since 01.04.2014, more than 11 crore new LPG connections have been released.
Year
2014-15
2015-16
2016-17
2017-18
Subsidy
(? in crore)
40,569
16,056
14,566
20,880
(d)
Since inception of the scheme, OMCs have reported 152 established cases of irregularities relating to PMUY and action has been taken against the concerned distributors under Marketing Discipline Guidelines. Further, OMC
employees are governed by the provisions of Conduct, Discipline and Appeal Rules and OMCs initiate action against the erring officials as per the same.
(e)
In order to provide clean cooking fuel to every poor households especially in rural areas, the Government had launched PMUY to provide deposit-free LPG connections to 8 crore women belonging to the Below Poverty Line Households. OMCs have released more than 4.73 crore LPG connection under PMUY as on 18.07.2018 since launch of the Scheme.
Further, to strengthen the infrastructure, OMCs have advertised 6351 locations for selection of new LPG Distributorships in addition to 20,585 existing LPG distributorships.
(f)
There is no such proposal under consideration of the Government. However, the benefit of the LPG subsidy is not admissible for the LPG consumers, if the consumer or his/her spouse had taxable income of Rs. 10 lakh and above during the previous financial year computed as per the Income Tax Act 1961.