Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Murli Deora inaugurated the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen LPG Vitarak Yojana as a national scheme for providing liquefied petroleum gas to the rural households at Lachhmangarh in Sikar district of Rajasthan on Sunday. Six dealers were selected for rural locations in the State through draw of lots.
Addressing the gathering, Mr. Deora said the Union Government was committed to providing convenient and hygienic cooking fuel to the rural households on a priority. “This scheme will greatly improve the cooking conditions in the kitchens of rural women,” he added.
The public sector oil marketing companies have invited applications for LPG distributorship at over 1,200 rural locations in eight States where LPG coverage is lower than the national average. Mr. Deora said while the selection process for these places would be completed by April-end, 800 more locations would shortly be advertised as part of second phase of the scheme.
Locations for supply
In addition to selection of dealers for Sikar, Jhunjhunu, Nagaur and Churu districts in the State, draw of lots were also held for 44 locations in West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.
Union Rural Development Minister C. P. Joshi, Minister of State for Road Transport Mahadeo Singh Khandela, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Indian Oil Corporation Chairman B. M. Bansal and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Managing Director R. S. Sharma attended the function.
Mr. Deora said a high-level committee appointed to look into the issue of establishing an oil refinery in Rajasthan was likely to submit its report within the next fortnight: “The final decision in this regard will be taken after the study of the committee’s recommendations.”
The Union Minister called upon the oil company officers to ensure that the subsidies on natural gas and petroleum products reach the target groups. He said the State Governments should also evolve a mechanism for monitoring the distribution of kerosene to ensure its adequate supply to the poor families.