Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram, BJP MLA and BJP’s Odisha State Unit President Basant Panda, Senior BJP leader Sursh Pujari, Prithiviraj Harichandan and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.
In his speech Pradhan said that, Odisha is among the states with least penetration of LPG. 40 Lakh (30 Lakh through PMUY alone) new LPG connections will be given in the State.
In fact all centrally sponsored schemes should be brought under the ambit of DBT to minimize diversions & better targeting of beneficiaries. Such an initiative will help in better targeting of beneficiaries & will ensure substantial savings of State Exchequer as PAHAL scheme did, Pradhan added.
He requested the Odisha Govt. to introduce Direct Benefit Transfer Scheme under the National Food Security Act.
Connections under Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana will be distributed by organising Melas to ensure transparency & efficiency in distribution, Dharmendra Pradhan said.
The Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana aims to provide free of cost LPG cooking gas connections to women from BPL households across the country. Under the scheme, the central government is providing a financial assistance of 1,600 rupees to each eligible BPL candidate to buy an LPG connection.