SHIMLA: The Himachal Pradesh government on Sunday claimed that its 'Grihini Suvidha Yojana' (GSY) has been a success as it has achieved 66 per cent target in five months since its launch on May 26.
The GSY provides liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) connections to the households in the state which were not covered under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjawala Yojana. LPG connection is being provided also to the families affected by natural disasters.
The Food and Civil Supplies Department had set a target of 33,264 LPG connections in this fiscal. A total of 22,000 connections have been provided till October 16, a government spokesperson told IANS.
So far, the Department has received 161,207 applications and the government is spending Rs 3,500 per connection. The government aims to provide the LPG connection to all beneficiaries in two years.
Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur made a budgetary provision of Rs 12 crore for the scheme in this fiscal.
Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Minister Kishan Kapoor said Himachal is poised to become the first state in the country to provide clean, smoke-free fuel to each family.
This scheme will become a milestone in environment protection and women empowerment, he said in a statement.