Even as acrimony continues to haunt the status of the Women’s Reservation Bill, the Petroleum Ministry has gone ahead with its own scheme of things to “empower” rural Indian women making it mandatory for 50 per cent ownership by women of cooking gas dealerships under the Rajiv Gandhi Gramin LPG Vitrak Yojana.
The government is also considering sops to the Below Poverty Line population to encourage it to use the eco-friendly LPG cylinder and to give up burning of wood and use of kerosene in rural areas. The plan formulated by the government for this flagship scheme includes waiving of the Rs.1,400 security deposit and the regulator cost for BPL consumers. The oil marketing companies (OMCs) have already invited applications in 1,200 locations in eight States and plan to invite dealership offers in 800 villages by the end of March 2009.
Asked about the scheme, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister, Murli Deora, said the plan was being given a final shape and the subsidy component on this account would be met through State-owned OMCs’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds. Under the scheme, appointment of dealers would be based on the condition that the concerned individual must make his wife a partner in the business. A bachelor would be asked to give an undertaking that he would make his wife a partner after marriage. The idea is to empower rural women by providing them financial independence and the opportunity to grow.
The Petroleum Ministry has set a target to double the number of dealers in rural areas during the next financial year.