The Union government should involve State governments in the implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), Minister for Food and Civil Supplies U.T. Khader has said.
Speaking to presspersons here on Wednesday, he said that the Union government would not be able to implement the project successfully if it did not make State governments stakeholders. “Karnataka is ready to contribute its share in the project,” Mr. Khader said.
He pointed out that the project was announced in last May. But the progress achieved in its implementation was not impressive.
“The project could not be introduced in Karnataka and several other States till this day. Under the project, the Union government provides LPG gas regulators and pipes. However, the beneficiaries need to by the stove. It is not possible for all poor families to buy stoves. If the States are made partners, they could contribute stoves for the beneficiaries. The Food and Civil Supplies Department in Karnataka is ready to provide stoves for the beneficiaries,” Mr. Khader said.
He said that though the project would help poor families have clean energy for cooking, the Centre should not utilise it to gain political mileage.
“The money spent on advertising could have been sufficient to provide all the facilities for the beneficiaries. This project will fail to yield expected results if States are not taken into confidence. I will meet Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Devendra Pradhan next month and suggest him to implement the project in association with State governments,” Mr. Khader added.
