Secretary of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumers Affairs Amitabh Kaushal held a review of PM Ujjwala Yojna at Palamu Division, four districts Palamu, Garhwa, latehar and Chatra of which share about 60 per cent of the target of the scheme in the State.

Following the review on Sunday the Secretary said, “it is Palamu alone in Jharkhand State where 70 villages are to be covered under this scheme in the ongoing Gram Swaraj Abhiyan against the overall tally of 252 villages in the whole State.”

Garhwa has 32 villages, while Chatra 38 villages and 17 villages only in latehar. Moreover despite having 17 villages latehar is said to be going slow. The target is 2,282 gas connections to equal number of consumers but so far it has given gas connections to 280 consumers only, said secretary Amitabh Kaushal. He further said latehar has received 2,700 applications for gas connections as against the target of 2,282.

However the Secretary told media persons that on an average it has been seen all across the State that 20 per cent of the applications for gas connections do not fulfill the requisites and are thus rejected.

Contrary to expectations in regard to Garhwa the achievement under PM Ujjwala yojna here is pathetic. Garhwa has a target of 5,045 gas connections but has given so far only 681.

The Secretary said that in Garhwa the problem is different from latehar where has come 2,700 applications for 2,282 gas connections but in Garhwa far less number of applications have come, i.e. just 3,400 for gas connections as against the target of 5,045.

Among the four districts Chatra, latehar, Garhwa and Palamu none seemed in any close race against each other as Palamu has completed its 2,685 gas connections as against the target of 8,564. Chatra has the target of 4,543 gas connections but here too it has gas connections to only 2,368 consumers.

May 5 when the Gram Swaraj Abhiyan will close down is just a week away and to come at par with the targets fixed for the districts looks a distant proposition but the Secretary said, “The target is fixed and it has to be achieved.”