Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that Ujjawala Yojana under which free lPG connections have been given to women has transformed the lives of poor women in rural Uttar Pradesh and it is “Achche din” in true sense for these women.
“The Ujjawala Yojana has transformed the lives of women in villages. Instead of using traditional fuel comprising wood now these women are using green fuel which has brought a sea change in the lives of these women,” Yogi said while addressing a function in which lPG distributors were felicitated here on Sunday.
He said that there is great improvement in the health of these women which is `achche din’ for them. “Just ask them and you will get the reply”, Yogi said in a oblique reference to opposition barbs questioning achche din for people.
Chief Minister said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi while launching the Ujjawala Yojana has ensured that lPG cylinders reach the far flung areas of state. Besides, the distribution of these connections are not mired by controversy which reflects the policy of `Sabha Saath, sabka vikas’ as envisaged by the Prime Minister, he said adding that government has set target to distribute 5 crore cylinders among poor of which 1.25 crore are in Uttar Pradesh.
Yogi suggested that Central Government should set up a bio-diesel plant in Uttar Pradesh so that use of ethanol in petrol could be increased. This will increase the income of farmers. Besides, no serious though has been given as how to use solid waste as fuel. A serious thought should be given to this area, he said.
Union Petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan said that before NDA came to power getting a lPG connection was a Herculean task for a common man. But once Ujjawala Yojana was launched on May 1 in 2016 in Ballia now even a poor can get connection easily. There is an increase in lPG users now. In Gujarat 3 crore people use lPG while in UP lPG users has gone up from 1.14 crore to 2.88 crore, he said.
Senior Ministers Ashutosh Tandon, Rita Bahugna Joshi, Swati Singh and senior officials of Petroleum industry attended this meeting.