Modi’s Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana may not be the success his government claims it to be
Launched in 2016 to boost the usage of clean cooking fuels and control the related disease burden, the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana has claimed success with almost 98% coverage of liquefied petroleum gas in India. However, in the past five years, there has been only a 20% increase in the overall usage of clean cooking fuel, reveals a latest government survey of 22 states. Additionally, it indicates, houses that have LPG cylinders, may not necessarily be using them.
The scheme, launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, became a flagship programme of the National Democratic Alliance government and is credited to help the party in several key elections. The government claims that LPG coverage (estimated on the basis of active domestic connections and estimated households) in the country is almost 98% – an increase from 56% in 2014-’15.
It also claims the programme as a social movement that has brought a sea change in women’s life by offering them a smokeless and hassle-free cooking option as well as a healthy lifestyle and empowering them financially.
The National Family Health Survey, released last month, paints a different story. In the first round, the Union government has released details of 22 states which show around a 20% increase in actual usage of clean cooking fuel from 2015-’16 to 2019-’20. In Bihar, for example, 37.8% of the households (urban and rural) use clean cooking fuel, notes the survey.
In 2015-’16, before the scheme was launched, around 17% of the households in the state were using clean cooking fuels, according to the previous survey.
