Newmai News Network Shillong | December 9 Meghalaya will soon get its very own Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) bottling plant with the Central Government having already sanctioned Rs. 75 cores for the setting up of the facility. Informing this here on Saturday, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said, “I have signed an MOU to set up a bottling plant with an annual capacity of 13,000 metric tons. The investment of Rs 75 crore for the bottling plant will be done by the Government of India.” The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was inked between the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and the state government in the presence of Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan and Meghalaya Chief Minister, Dr. Mukul Sangma here in the city on Saturday. Pradhan said that the Centre has decided to implement the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) in the state in full swing while keeping in mind that the LPG penetration in Meghalaya is the lowest in the North East region. “Only 27 per cent of the households in the state are linked with LPG connectivity which is much below the national average,” he said. Emphasizing the need to have LPG connection for the rural households, he said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given priority to the far flung areas of the country and Meghalaya is one of them. Stating that at present there are only 49 LPG distributors in the state, the Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas said that another 20 LPG distributors have now been added for Meghalaya. Pradhan also said that the new bottling plant will be constructed at an existing site located in Shillong itself. Meanwhile, the Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas also launched the e-Library, social media centre and the official website of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Meghalaya state during his one-day visit to the poll-bound state. Addressing on the occasion, Pradhan said that before the upcoming 2018 state Assembly elections, he will again visit the state to enlighten the people especially in the rural villages about the various welfare programmes initiated by the Prime Minister. “For the forthcoming election, I am confident that the present incumbent Congress-led government is going to see the exit route and the state will have a new government which the BJP will play a major role in the state politics,” he added.
