Mangaluru: Dakshina Kannada district will see 49,618 beneficiaries without LPG connections get one under the Mukhyamantri Anilabhagya Scheme, district minister B Ramanath Rai said here on Saturday. Chairing a review meet on implementation of the scheme in the district, Rai said the administration has identified 49618 households in all eight assembly constituency limits in the district that are yet to receive LPG connection.

Noting that these beneficiaries are in the purview of 320 fair price shops, Rai said the government will provide LPG connections to 15888 beneficiaries in the first phase. Minister for food and civil supplies and consumer affairs U T Khader said a committee headed by local MLAs will select the surveyed beneficiaries from among labourers and BPL category and other sections for providing LPG connections on a priority basis.

The committee will also ascertain that the beneficiaries indeed do not have LPG connections and a demand draft equivalent to the cost of obtaining a connection will be handed over to them. The beneficiaries in turn may handover the DD to a LPG agency of their choice and obtain the connection, Khader said. The beneficiaries on the other hand will receive a gas stove free of cost. The government will bear Rs 4040 per connection under the scheme, he said.

Noting that this amount is free for the beneficiary, Khader said this amount will be borne out of grants released by departments of forest, labour and social welfare respectively. A district-level committee headed by the district minister has been set for the implementation of the scheme. He also directed his department officials to ready the list of beneficiaries within a week and ensure that genuine beneficiary, if any, left out of the list, is accommodated in the second list.