The misuse of the Ujjwala Yojana has come to light in Madhya Pradesh, where 2 lakh women removed men's names from gas connections to avail of subsidy benefits; an audit investigation will now be conducted.
Bhopal: The Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), launched to provide relief from kitchen smoke to millions of women in the country, appears to be a victim of a major fraud. According to a shocking report from Madhya Pradesh, nearly 2 lakh women have removed the names of their husbands or other male members from their domestic gas connections so they can simultaneously benefit from the 'Ladli Behna' scheme along with the Ujjwala Yojana.
This matter has now become a cause for concern for the state government and the Food Supply Department, prompting the department to decide to conduct an independent audit investigation of the entire matter. Additionally, strict instructions have been given to the oil companies not to accept any new transfer applications until the investigation is complete.
The scheme's intention is good, but there is a flaw in the intent
The objective of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana is to provide smoke-free kitchens to poor families, especially women in rural areas. Under this scheme, women are provided with subsidized gas cylinders for Rs 450. But some people have tried to circumvent the rules to take advantage of this scheme.
Under the 'Ladli Behna Yojana', the state government provides financial assistance of Rs 1,000 per month to economically weaker women. According to the rules, if a male member already has a gas connection under the Ujjwala Yojana in the family, the woman cannot avail the benefit of the Ujjwala subsidy. Taking advantage of this loophole, thousands of women removed the gas connection from the name of their husbands or any other male member and had it transferred to their own names, so that they could benefit from both schemes simultaneously.
Deepening suspicion, preparations for in-depth investigation
When the Food Department took cognizance of this pattern, they prepared a preliminary report and sent it to the government. The report expressed the apprehension that there could be a large number of irregularities in such connection transfers. Following this, the department immediately:
- Stopped new connection transfers
- Issued instructions to oil companies to reject any such applications
- Sent a proposal to the government to conduct an audit of the scheme by an independent agency
What points will be investigated in the audit?
According to the Food Department, the following points will be thoroughly investigated during the audit:
- On whose name was the gas connection earlier and since when
- The reason for and period of the name change
- Are the women beneficiaries actually eligible for both the Ujjwala and Ladli Behna schemes
- Are there any obstacles or complaints in gas refilling
- Has there been an improvement in the health of women
- Has it helped in the education of children and other household responsibilities
- Is this change affecting the socio-cultural structure
A new face of corruption: 'Smart fraud'
This scam is not just about financial manipulation, but it's a misuse of schemes through smart methods. Most of the women whose names have now been transferred for gas connections made this change only so they could continue receiving the Ujjwala subsidy along with the Ladli Behna Yojana amount. This has hurt the spirit of the scheme, and questions have been raised about the government's monitoring system.
Administration is vigilant, the game of names will not work now
In Madhya Pradesh, to take advantage of the Ujjwala Yojana, nearly 2 lakh women removed the names of their husbands or any male member from their gas connections so they could continue receiving the subsidy. Now, to stop this malpractice, the government has decided to investigate and has instructed oil companies not to accept any transfers without permission.
What does the opposition say?
Opposition parties have directly targeted the government regarding the irregularities that have come to light in the Ujjwala Yojana. They say that when the government itself is not able to maintain transparency in its schemes, how can the common people trust such a system. Leaders have questioned that if irregularities have already come to light in 2 lakh cases so far, this number may increase even further after the investigation, which will have a major impact on the credibility of the scheme.
