The number of “nil refills” of LPG cylinders by beneficiaries of the Prime Minister Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) in Karnataka has recorded a staggering 107% increase between 2021 and 2026, even as the per capita consumption of PMUY beneficiaries, in terms of 14.2-kg LPG cylinders per connection per annum, increased by 21% from 4.53 cylinders to 5.49 cylinders.
From 1.64 lakh “nil refills” by beneficiaries in 2021-22, the number increased to 3.40 lakh in 2025-26. Correspondingly, the number of connections with just one refill and two refills a year has also seen a decline. The number of connections with just one refill a year dropped from 3.77 lakh in 2021-22 to 2.98 lakh in 2025-26, a decline of 20.95%. The number of connections with just two refills a year also declined by 28%, from 4.63 lakh to 3.3 lakh.
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The data was shared by the Union government in the Rajya Sabha in response to a question raised by Congress MP Mansoor Ali Khan on Monday.
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Commenting on the government’s response, Mr. Khan said, “Figures show that lakhs of beneficiaries in several States are going through an entire financial year without taking even one refill. In West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh alone, more than 42 lakh beneficiaries took no refill in 2025-26. We need to ask why.”
He added, “A clean cooking fuel connection is meaningful only when a family can afford to use it regularly. If beneficiaries are unable to refill cylinders, there is a real risk of households returning to firewood, biomass and other traditional fuels. The focus now must move from the number of connections distributed to sustained LPG usage and affordability among low-income households.”
Mr. Khan said there is a need for a closer assessment of why zero-refill households remain high in certain States, whether affordability is a significant barrier, and what interventions are required to ensure that access to LPG translates into sustained clean-fuel usage. The government, in its reply, acknowledged that household LPG consumption depends on several factors, including price and the availability of alternative fuels, apart from household size, food habits and cooking practices.
In the same period, the data also shows that the number of connections with three or more LPG refills had gone up from 24.59 lakhs in 2021-2022 to 32.66 lakhs in 2025-2026, marking an increase by 30.54 %.
It is learnt that the number of connections with “nil refills” increased since 2021-22 as the number of PMUY connections also went up during the period, especially in the North Karnataka region, where the number of connections has historically been lower than in South Karnataka. “There was scope for an increase in connections in Karnataka since free LPG cylinder schemes had not been part of the State government’s policy, unlike in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala,” sources said.
Sources also suspected that the number of connections with more than three refills per annum may have gone up in the last two years due to the high cost of LPG, and that cylinders could have been diverted, especially by the urban poor.
Published - August 10, 2026 07:34 pm IST
Source: The Hindu - India News
