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RS Sarma
Ujjwala did not create much interest in AP because most rural and urban households have already been covered under the Telugu Desam’s Deepam scheme, which was launched in 1999. But Deepam faced difficulties in implementation in remote, hilly and interior areas. PMUY needs to be different. In Visakhapatnam, there are 11 mandals inhabited by Girijans. Deepam cylinders were sanctioned to the Girijan families, but they do not take the refills.
Shanmukha Rao, a representative of an NGO working in the area, says: “LPG dealers have outlets only in a few important places. Tribals living as far away as 20-25 km from these points find it extremely difficult to carry the cylinders to their places. The LPG subsidy is directly credited to a person's bank account. First, he or she has to pay the full amount. Therefore, bank accounts have to be opened under Jan Dhan scheme in urban areas. But in rural areas many do not have bank accounts and even banking correspondents with their mini ATMs cannot reach the remote areas,” said Rao.
In urban areas, people opt for LPG as kerosene is not supplied through PDS. But people in rural areas are rejecting costly LPG for firewood.
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