Government plans to provide LPG connections to all BPL households
The State government proposes to make Bangalore a kerosene-free city by
providing domestic LPG connections to all households, particularly below
poverty line card holders.
The government has sent a proposal to the Centre to provide LPG
connection to all card holders, who use kerosene. Now, only 55 per cent
of the State’s households have LPG connections and nearly 80 per cent of
the connections are in urban areas.
“We are in talks with the Centre on this,” Minister of State for Food
and Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Dinesh Gundu Rao told
presspersons on Friday.
Besides reducing health risks, widespread use of LPG would reduce pollution levels, he said.
The government has offered to give subsidy to the initiative. “It will
benefit all stakeholders. It’s eco-friendly. People need not wait in
ration shops for four to five hours for kerosene,” the Minister said.
Cent per cent LPG connections will substantially reduce indiscriminate
felling of trees for use of firewood, he said.
He expects more than 95 per cent of card holders, who use kerosene, to
shift to LPG. While the government will not make it mandatory, it will
offer the option to the people to opt for a LPG connection.
There are 6.91 lakh BPL households in Bangalore city alone and all are
eligible to procure four litres of kerosene a month from ration shops,
he said.
The government has cut off kerosene supply to 12 lakh card holders in
the State, who were found to have LPG connection. Issue price of
kerosene from oil marketing companies has reduced to Rs. 15.6 per litre
from Rs. 16.10, and the benefit has entirely been passed on to card
holders, said the Minister.
He also said the government has initiated steps to crack down on misuse
and diversion of domestic LPG connections. On an average, 5 to 8 per
cent of domestic LPG is being diverted for commercial use in Bangalore.
Source: http://to.ly/mgFY
