The Federation of LPG Distributors of India (FLDI) has said that the oil marketing companies are ignoring the safety issues in Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojna (PMUY).

At a press conference here on Tuesday, Pawan Soni, General Secretary, FLDI, said, the Association, which has been the leading partner in the implementation of PMUY, has been raising serious concerns about safety and the implementation even before the scheme was announced by the government. “PMUY scheme is a good example of good intention and bad implementation,” he added.

Some of the concerns raised by FLDI include : more than 90 per cent of the households of economically backward targeted beneficiaries fail to meet the safety parameters required for installing an LPG connection; no safety awareness campaign was launched to create awareness among the targeted beneficiaries and despite repeated requests, oil marketing companies are not providing pilferage-proof cylinders; OMCs only provide insurance, but no mediclaim policy in case of any unfortunate incidents.

Repeated requests

The Association’s repeated requests to the Ministry to take appropriate safety measures to avoid any unfortunate accident that could derail the process of the welfare scheme has so far fallen on deaf ears.

“Distributors refuse to take any further responsibility of PMUY campaign until the Ministry addresses the issue raised by the association and we feel that despite the noble cause of the scheme, it should not be extended in its current form which puts its benefactors and their families at great personal risk.”

The ₹8,000-crore PMUY initiative was launched on May 1, to provide 50 million free LPG connections to poor households. The scheme has already covered more than 8 million families in more than 15 states, led by Uttar Pradesh.

Reacting to a recent incident of cylinder gas leak in Saharanpur which saw almost an entire family killed, the Association felt that this incident could have been avoided had OMCs and Ministry paid heed to the suggestions offered by the distributors.

PV Rao, President, FLDI, said the association has given the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry time till Diwali to call for a meeting after which they will be forced to take drastic measures such as calling for an indefinite strike across the country.

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