After deaths from cylinder blast, concerns about lack of awareness
The PMUY in West Bengal targets to benefit 19.6 million below poverty line households in the next three years
The scheme has already been launched regionally by the Centre in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan
Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram and Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan are scheduled to flag it off
With reference to the editorial, "Subsidised gas" (May 5), the launch of Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, an ambitious programme of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provide subsidised liquefied petroleum gas connections to 50 million poor families, must be lauded for its intent.It's a different matter that the scheme, though aimed at reducing pollution and improving the quality of life for women in rural areas, is being portrayed as a huge political investment by the government. In any case, the proposed connections, expected to cost Rs 8,000 crore over three years, will be allotted in the names of women members of households living below the poverty line (BPL).I endorse the editorial's view that the first big challenge for the scheme would be to identify the poor households, in the absence of proper, authenticated data on the BPL population. Apart from distribution-related problems, the scheme would entail delays in reimbursement to oil companies, as the use of the Aadhaar-based direct b