Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday said that even on the occasion of Holi in March, the state government will provide free gas cylinders for which the beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana need to link their bank accounts with Aadhaar.
The CM, on the occasion of Dhanteras, inaugurated the distribution campaign for free refills of cooking gas cylinders under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana for 1.75 crore eligible families in the state here on Friday. The state government will spend Rs 2,312 crore on this campaign.
CM Yogi said: “Our government is fulfilling another announcement made in the ‘Lok Kalyan Sankalp Patra’ during the Assembly elections-2022. Before 2014, the people were not able to get gas connections. Even if a connection was available, they had to stand in long queues for cylinders.”
He highlighted that the Ujjwala scheme, initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2016, has successfully addressed the gas shortage issue in the country. Almost 9.60 crore families in the country received their first free gas connection, benefiting around 50 crore people.
“Recently, Prime Minister Modi provided an additional subsidy of Rs 300 to LPG beneficiaries. Today, beneficiaries are receiving the subsidy directly in their accounts without any fraud or theft. Due to being linked to Aadhaar, the subsidy money is reaching their account directly,” he added.
CM Yogi stated that through the Ujjwala scheme, Prime Minister Modi has not only provided clean fuel in the form of LPG to the poor and marginalized but has also contributed to saving eyes as well as their lungs.
During this program, Union Minister Kaushal Kishore, Mayor Sushma Kharkwal, MLAs Neeraj Bora, Yogesh Shukla, MLCs Mukesh Sharma, Bukkal Nawab, Chief Secretary Durga Shankar Mishra, and representatives from three government companies – Indian Oil, Hindustan Petroleum, and Bharat Petroleum, were present.