HP exempted from ban on LPG connections

Shimla, May 29 (UNI) Himachal Pradesh Food and Civil Supplies Minister Ramesh Dhawala today said the Centre had exempted the state from the ban on issuing new LPG connections following which the new gas connections would be made available to the people.

''The Centre has decided to lift the ban on issuing new LPG connections after the state government discussed the issue with it recently,'' he said here.

About the availability of essential commodities in the state, Mr Dhawala said there was sufficient stock of essential commodities under the PDS system, which was being strengthen to provide cheap rations to the people of the state.

The Centre had provided a quota of 9,860 metric tonne of rice to APL families from June 2008, but the government had decided to make available 20 kg of rice to each APL family from its own food grains godowns in the month of June, he said in a release here.

He said the government had taken up the matter with Central Government and efforts were on to revive this quota from July this year.

''The quota for rice fixed for BPL and Antodaya families has not been curtailed,'' he said and added that ''arrangements have also been made to lift the additional quota of wheat as sanctioned by Central Government for APL families for June, 2008''.

Mr Dhawala said all essential commodities including pulses, edible oils, kerosene oil, were being made available to the consumers through the network of fair price shops functioning under Public Distribution System (PDS).

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