As many as 25 lakh poor families in Chhattisgarh will be provided domestic LPG connections in next two years at nominal charges under the ambitious 'Ujjwala scheme' launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a state government official said on Sunday.
These connections will be in the name of women members and around one crore families will get benefited by the scheme, he the official added.
"Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan had green signalled the proposal of the state government in this regard during a high-level meeting here yesterday," the official spokesperson said.
Chief minister Raman Singh and senior state officials were present during the meeting chaired by Pradhan.
The Union Minister also sanctioned establishment of a regional office for Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL) in Raipur.
The chief minister has directed the officials to prepare a work plan for the implementation of 'Ujjwala scheme' in the state on war-footing.
Pradhan expressed happiness that Chhattisgarh is the first state in the country which has come forward for implementation the scheme.
Under the scheme, the Central government will provide the LPG connections and gas regulator, while the state government will provide gas oven and the cost of first cylinder. In Chhattisgarh also, the state government will bear the cost of oven and first cylinder which will add a burden of Rs 300 crore on the state exchequer, the official said.
The Union minister also asked Singh to initiate a mapping process for existing petrol pumps in the state so that new pumps could be sanctioned in areas where there is a requirement.
