Diwali is round the corner and if you have been planning to do something for marginalized section of the society, this is something you must read. Under government's 'Ujjwala Plus' scheme, an extension of Ujjwala scheme, you can play a good samaritan by donating cooking gas connections to poor households. The good deed will fetch you tax benefits under Section 80 G. This was revealed by Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to Times of India.

Each gas connection costs Rs 1,600 towards the administrative cost, pressure regulator booklet and safety hose. The scheme that is slated for release before Diwali will be preceded by a 'LPG Panchayat' scheme by the government, the Times of India.



"We have 22.5 crore LPG consumers in the country. We have to raise this coverage. For this we need to create mass awareness about safety, affordability and health benefits of using LPG as a cooking fuel. LPG Panchayat will rope in women working at local self-government bodies or in mass-based schemes such as Anganwadi and Choupals to do this," said the minister.

On May 1, Rs 8,000-crore Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) scheme was launched with an aim to provide free LPG connection to 5 crore poor households in a span of 3 years. The government works with the state-run fuel retailers to provide the free LPG gas connection to poor households.