ITANAGAR, June 5 - A team of officials from the Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL), headed by the Chief General Manager (AOD), Uttiya Bhattacharyya, called on Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu at his office here this morning. Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein, Civil Supplies Minister Kamlung Mossang, Secretary to the Civil Supplies Department and other officials were present on the occasion.
Giving details of the IOCL�s presence and activities in the State, Bhattacharyya said that besides running commercial outlets, the PSU is engaged in providing PMUY (LPG) connections to rural poor under the Central Government�s Gram Swaraj Abhiyan. Under the Abhiyan, LPG connections are set to be provided to about 16,000 villages across the country by the end of this year.
The CGM informed that while more than 6,000 villages are being covered under the scheme in the North East, the IOCL will provide PMUY connections to about 299 villages in Arunachal Pradesh. So far, about 8,995 connections have been provided to individual households out of the target of 10,000 in the State.
�Arunachal Pradesh is one of the highest consumers of LPG in the region, which is a great sign. Also Arunachal Pradesh is the only State after Assam to give additional subsidy for a connection to the beneficiaries,� Bhattacharyya revealed.
The IOCL has a bottling plant at Kimin in Papum Pare district, which caters to the State�s requirements, along with 66 existing distributors. The CGM assured the Chief Minister that there would be no scarcity of LPG in the State.
On the request of the State Government, the IOCL has posted a permanent officer, a State-level coordinator, in the State capital who will coordinate with the State Government and other stakeholders on behalf of the PSU.
When requested by the Chief Minister to open more petroleum depots in the State, especially in the far-flung areas, Bhattacharyya and his officials informed that the IOCL, which has 80 per cent share of the depots in Arunachal Pradesh, has 55 outlets across the State. Sixteen more are in various stages of commencing, they stated.
The IOCL can open petrol pumps wherever the Government feels it necessary provided plots with minimum requirements are provided. The main depot at Doimukh is being expanded, which is now connected through broad gauge, and it can cater to as many outlets as needed, the CGM said.
The Chief Minister asked the Civil Supplies Department to locate government land in the districts, which can be offered to the IOCL for opening outlets.