Himachal becomes country’s first LPG-enabled and smoke-free state
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10Pointer
- Categories
Environment
- Published
6th Jan, 2022
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Context
Himachal Pradesh has become the first LPG enabled and smoke free-state in the country due to Ujjwala scheme of the Central Government and housewives welfare scheme of the State Government.
Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY)
- PMUY is a programme launched by the government on May 1, 2016.
- The implementation of the scheme is under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas through its Oil Marketing Companies.
- The primary purpose of the scheme is to distribute LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) connections to the women of low households in India.
- The programme was initially launched with a budget of Rs. 80 billion.
- Initially, five crores BPL (below poverty line) households were targeted through PMUY; the target was achieved by March 31, 2019.
- An additional allocation of Rs 4,800 crore was done, and the target was expanded to benefit 80 million low-income families through the scheme.
- Under this scheme, towards an initiative for the loss by Covid-19 outbreak, the Finance Minister of India, announced to provide cylinders free of cost to the BPL families from March 26, 2020, for three months.
Liquified petroleum gas (LPG)
- Liquified petroleum gas (LPG) is a fuel used in many household appliances for cooking, heating, and hot water.
- It is called liquefied gas because it is easily transformed into a liquid.
- LPG composition is primarily propane, butane, isobutane, butylenes, propylene and mixtures of these gases.
- LPG is composed of liquid or gas (vapor), depending on pressure and LPG gas temperature.
- LPG needs only low pressure or refrigeration to change it into liquid from its gaseous state.
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About Mukhyamantri Grihini Suvidha Yojana
- The Mukhya Mantri Grihini Suvidha Yojana was launched on May 26, 2018.
- With the concerted efforts of the Central and state governments, the women of the state had become free from indoor pollution.
- Besides, to conserve the environment, a free LPG connection was given to families with no gas connection.
The progress
- Under the Ujjwala scheme, 1.36 lakh free domestic kitchen connections were given by the central government at a cost of Rs 21.81 crore while 3.23 lakh housewives were given Rs 120 crore under the Mukhyamantri Grihini Suvidha Yojana.
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Need of the Scheme
- The objective of launching the scheme was to provide free gas connections to those families which were not covered under the Centre’s Ujjwala scheme.
- These schemes have reduced the dependence on wood for fuel.
- The adverse effect of smoke on women’s health has also been relieved. Due to these schemes, the standard of living of women has also improved.
Indoor air pollution:
- It refers to the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of air in the indoor environment within a home, building, or an institution or commercial facility.
- A number of air pollutants have been recognised to exist indoors, including NOx, SO2, ozone (O3), CO, volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds (VOCs), PM, radon and microorganisms.
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