Bhubaneswar: The Orissa government has asked
the Centre to directly allot LPG dealership to viable Women
Self-Help Groups (WSHGs) under the newly launched Rajiv Gandhi
Gramin LPG Vitarak (RGGLPGV) programme.
In a letter to the Union Minister for Petroleum and
Natural Gas Jaipal Reddy, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said
that the women groups would get financial benefits if they
were directly given dealership.
"There is no provision under the RGGLPGV scheme to give
distributorship directly to the women self-help groups either
on their own or those operating under the 'Shakti Gaon'
project," Patnaik pointed out.
On the other hand, Patnaik pointed out that further
restrictions have been imposed by the Oil Marketing Companies
on the SHGs limiting their area of operation within 15 km
radius for delivering LPG cylinders.
As a result the DSMS (district supply and marketing
society) which has been operating its extension counters
through the SHGs beyond 15 km of radius have been put to
inconvenience, Patnaik told in the letter to Reddy.
"While welcoming initiative of the ministry for LPG
distribution in rural areas, I will request kind intervention
for allotment of LPG dealership to the economically viable
WSHGs directly and remove the present distance restrictions
imposed by the Oil Marketing Companies for LPG distribution
and new connections so as to provide sustainable income to
them," Patnaik said.
PTI
First Published: Saturday, November 12, 2011, 17:38