Government of India has announced pro-poor initiatives under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana, as part of economic response to Covid-19. This is aimed at alleviating the hardships faced by poor due to economic disruption by Corona virus. As per this Yojana, free LPG Refills are to be provided to Ujjwala beneficiaries over the period of 3 months, from April to June 2020.
As on date, Oil Marketing Companies have initiated transfer of Rs 5,606 crore into 7.15 Crore PMUY beneficiary accounts for availing free delivery of LPG cylinder under the PMGKY. Booking of 1.26Crore cylinders has been done in this month by the beneficiaries, out of which about 85 lakh cylinders have been delivered to PMUY beneficiaries.
There are 27.87 Croreactive LPG consumers in the country, with the PMUY beneficiaries accounting for over 8 crore. Since the lockdown, 50 to 60 lakh cylinders are being delivered daily in the country. When there is nationwide lockdown and the people are staying home to stay safe, LPG delivery boys and all those in the supply chain of LPG are working tirelessly to ensure that clean fuel reaches people directly at their homes.
From Mountainous terrain to backwaters, hamlets in deserts to habitations in forests, these Corona warriors are steadfast in their duties and ensuring timely delivery. Even in these trying times, the waiting period for cylinders at most of the places is less than 2 days. Oil marketing companies- IOCL, BPCL and HPCL have announced an ex-gratia amount of Rs 5 lakh each, as a one-time special measure, in the unfortunate case of demise of personnel like Show-room Staff, Godown-keepers, Mechanics and Delivery boys, attending duty in the LPG distributorship chain, due to the infection and impact of Covid-19.
