Ramesh has argued for targeted subsidising of cooking gas for 1,72,000 villages that depend on forest wood for cooking. He has written to Petroleum Minister Jaipal Reddy to take the idea forward. "There are about 1.7 lakh villages in and around our forest areas and if we can have a distribution system for providing LPG, I think we would have taken a huge step forward in protecting our forests ," Ramesh wrote.
A distribution system for LPG in these areas would drastically reduce the dependence of villagers on firewood for cooking. At an average families use 2 tonnes of wood every year. The minister estimates that the cooking needs of the 1.7 lakh villages would require about 5 to 6 million tonnes of LPG every year. Urging that a beginning be made, Ramesh has said that the move would have beneficial effect on the forest cover. The Environment Minister has cited the efforts that have been made by NGOs and the positive impact it has had to make a case.
"In the vicinity of Bandipur sanctuary, for instance, some 30,000 families have been provided with LPG through the efforts of local NGOs and this is already having a salutary impact on forest cover," Ramesh said. Earlier this month, Ramesh argued that that instead of putting money in subsidising diesel which was not achieving its intended social benefit, the government should focus on subsidising cooking gas in forest areas. Read the full report here.
Source: Urmi A Goswami, ET Bureau, Economic Times, New Delhi.
