PANAJI: Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Saturday launched the Goa Ujjwala Yojana, 2026, under which eligible households will receive annual financial assistance of Rs 3,000 towards cooking-fuel expenses for the financial year 2026-27.
The assistance, equivalent to the cost of three domestic LPG refills, will be paid as a one-time lump sum directly into the beneficiary’s Aadhaar-linked bank account through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT). The scheme has a Rs 100 crore provision and carries no income ceiling.
“The Bharatiya Janata Party government had declared a scheme of providing three free cylinders, and it gives me immense joy to say that while we declared it just the day before yesterday, we have today begun distributing the application forms,” Sawant said during the launch. At the prevailing LPG price of Rs 956 per cylinder, three refills cost Rs 2,868. However, the government will provide a rounded Rs 3,000 annual benefit, transferred in one instalment, Sawant said.
The scheme has two categories of beneficiaries. Existing Griha Aadhaar beneficiaries and women receiving benefits under the Dayanand Social Security Scheme (DSSS) will be covered based on government records, subject to verification of their LPG or PNG connection. They have to submit the prescribed form along with Aadhaar, LPG book or PNG details, and the relevant Aadhaar-linked bank passbook.
Those not covered under these schemes can apply under the open category. Applicants must be 18 years or older, Goa residents with a valid EPIC, and have a domestic LPG or PNG connection. The connection may be in the applicant’s name or another family member’s name. Widows, widowers and divorcees are also eligible, subject to the scheme conditions. Sawant said the government’s objective was to ensure that at least one person in every household receives the annual benefit.
Application forms have been distributed through 191 Gram Panchayats and municipal offices and are to be submitted between September 5 and 8 through Panchayat Secretaries, Swayampurna Mitras or the prescribed local authorities. The government aims to begin transferring the annual assistance on September 9 or 10, depending on the number of applications received. Sawant urged people not to crowd government offices and said Panchayat and municipal offices would remain open on Sunday to assist applicants. He said the process had been kept simple, with no requirement for an income certificate or unnecessary paperwork.
For LPG consumers, a photocopy of the first page of the LPG book will suffice, while PNG consumers can submit a copy of their PNG bill or service agreement. Only one annual benefit will be permitted per household, irrespective of the number of LPG or PNG connections. Sawant also clarified that BPL households without an LPG connection can avail themselves of benefits under the Central government’s Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY). Under PMUY, eligible families can get a new LPG connection, a free regulator and three free LPG cylinders, along with financial assistance of Rs 1,500, he said.
He urged Panchayat representatives and Swayampurna Mitras to identify households without gas connections and assist them in obtaining connections through LPG dealers and oil companies. Households that have recently obtained an LPG connection can also avail themselves of the Goa Ujjwala Yojana, subject to its eligibility conditions. Sawant said Goa had become a kerosene-free State and appealed to households still without a gas connection to obtain one.
Union Minister of State Shripad Naik, who attended the launch, congratulated Sawant and the State government, saying the scheme would provide direct relief to Goan households. “Cooking gas is a regular and unavoidable expense. Every saving matters when the government helps a family save on an expense they face month after month,” Naik said.
He said the annual assistance could help families meet other household expenses, including groceries, education and medicines, and welcomed the absence of an income ceiling. “The BJP government has promised, and once again, the BJP government has delivered,” he said.
The scheme provides a grievance redressal mechanism, with applicants able to approach the concerned Assistant Director of Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs in cases of rejection, non-inclusion or non-receipt of assistance. Appeals can subsequently be made before the Director of Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs.
The government has cautioned that benefits obtained through false, incorrect or incomplete information, or by persons found ineligible at the time of payment, may be recovered as per the scheme and applicable law.
