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New Delhi : The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi cleared the proposal of Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas to release deposit free LPG connections to poor families, who were not considered earlier for release of LPG connections under Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) on account of their names not been covered either in Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) list or the seven identified categories i.e. SC/STs households, beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) (Gramin), Antyodaya Anna Yojana(AAY), Forest dwellers, Most Backward Classes (MBC), Tea & Ex-Tea Garden Tribes, people residing in Islands / river islands, whose names did not appear in the SECC Iist.
Considering several representations received from various quarters, now poor families who could not get LPG connection under PMUY are now eligible to get a connection subject to fulfilling the eligibility norms and furnishing required documents.
It may be recalled that PMUY was launched on May 1, 2016, through which deposit free LPG connections are released with the cash assistance of Rs 16,007 per connection by Government of India and also interest free loan to purchase stove and refill by Oil Marketing Companies. So far more than 5.86 crore LPG connections have been released under PMUY against the target of 8 crore. Forty-eight percent of the beneficiaries are SC/STs.
World Health Organisation has hailed PMUY as decisive intervention by the Government to facilitate switch to clean household energy use, thereby addressing the problems associated with Indoor Household Pollution, according to a PIB release.