Describing 2016 as the year of the LPG consumer, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan said on Friday that online payment facility for LPG refill would be available by the end of the year.
“In the three calendar years of 2016, 2017 and 2018, we have set the target for supplying clean fuel to at least 70 per cent of the households.”
Single helpline number for gas leaks opened
LPG consumers now have a single short number to dial for help in case of gas leaks.
Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday inaugurated the 24X7 all-India helpline — 1906 — for LPG leaks.
Each oil marketing company used to have a separate helpline for gas leaks. Consumers now have to just dial 1906, to receive prompt help, Mr. Pradhan said. The number was not toll-free at the moment, but he had asked the heads of the OMCs to make it toll-free soon.
Every year, Mr. Pradhan said, around 5 lakh women die because of indoor pollution caused by the use of wood or gobar as fuel. In addition, thousands of people fall ill, adding to their medical expenditure.
The government is pushing for supplying cleaner fuel like LPG to as many households as possible.
While the aim is to have an LPG connection in every household, the target he set is that 70 per cent would be covered by the end of 2018.
“Right now, there are around 27 crore households in India, out of which 16.5 crore have active LPG connections. We added 1.35 crore new LPG consumers last year,” the Minister said.