Puri commends center’s developmental strategies in Manipur

BY A STAFF REPORTER: Union Minister of Petroleum & Natural Energy; Housing & Urban Affairs, Hardeep Singh Puri praised the government’s initiatives for Manipur’s rural empowerment and natural resources’ transformation in a recent letter addressed to the Union Minister, Dr. Rajkumar Ranjan Singh. 

In the letter, Puri mentioned that despite of global increase, the petroleum prices remained balanced in last two years. He also expressed how the petrol prices have decreased as a result of centre's strategic deduction in excise duty and how it has advantaged the consumers during a global surge in crude oil prices. 

The letter also mentions helpful schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), under which clean cooking fuel is provided to rural households which is empowering women and enhancing life standards. It also stated that the PMUY initiative has already benefited 9.60 crore households with 31.64 crore active LPG consumers, and the latest decision to provide an additional 75 lakh Ujjwala connections is set to raise the total number of PMUY beneficiaries to 10.35 crore. 

Along with this, it revealed that state has witnessed an 80% growth in petrol pumps coupled with 79% rise in LPG connections, reaching 4.3 lakhs from 2014 to 2023. 

Furthermore, Hardeep S Puri also stated that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects totaling 3.65 crores have greatly aided overall development. The Northeast Gas Grid (NEGG) project, which is now underway and will cost 9265 crores, intends to distribute natural gas to eight North-Eastern states, promoting sustainable growth and energy accessibility.