Ujjwala LPG scheme dogged by diversion, delay and low consumption: CAG

NEW DELHI: Ujjwala, the government’s flagship social welfare for providing cooking gas connection free of cost to poor households, is dogged by the diversion of subsidised cylinders for commercial purpose, low consumption by beneficiaries and considerable delay in delivery of refills, according to the federal auditor.
In its report tabled in Parliament on Wednesday, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) says it found the “risk of diversion of domestic cylinders for commercial use was noticed as 1.98 lakh beneficiary households had an average annual consumption of more than 12 cylinders, which seems improbable in view of their BPL (below poverty line) status”.
The report found 13.96 lakh beneficiaries consuming 3-41 refills in a month and pointed out 3.44 lakh instances where the state-run oil companies issued 2-20 refills in a day to beneficiary households with the single-cylinder connection.
Ujjwala has been seen as a life-changing scheme the aimed to deliver energy justice to poor households by giving access to clean cooking fuel. Improving women’s health by saving them from harmful smoke from ovens using wood and cow dung cake etc as fuel.