April 03, 2002

    Shri Ram Naik, Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas, informed here today that the Government has urged the Hon’ble Supreme Court in an Application filed recently to permit the Government to allot the LPG Distributorships/Retail Outlets to the Awardees under the Kargil Scheme from those which were quashed by the Hon’ble Delhi High Court for arbitrary allotment under the discretionary powers exercised by the predecessors in the earlier Government. If allowed by the Apex Court, it will help clear the backlog of the cases pending for commissioning under the "Operation Vijay" Special Scheme for widows/next of kin of Kargil Martyrs. Around 300 cases due for cancellation from the arbitrary allotment would be more than enough for clearing the remaining 185 cases still pending for commissioning for want of land allotment by the respective State Governments. Shri Ram Naik said this while inaugurating a Retail Outlet in Rohini area of Delhi, allotted to Smt. Kanchan, the widow of Kargil Martyr Naik Rakesh Kumar. The Minister expressed hope that the Hon’ble Supreme Court would decide favourably before the court closes for summer vacations.

    Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said that the allotment of retail outlet in the memory of brave soldiers as a small tribute to the supreme sacrifice of laying down the life in the defence of the mother country. So far, out of 403 Letters of Intent issued for award of Retail Outlets/LPG Distributorships, 218 have been commissioned as on 1^st March 2002. The Government is making all out efforts to commission the remaining allotment which is hampered by non-availability of land. Regular follow up is being undertaken with the concerned State Governments for expediting the process of land allotment.

    Shri Naik recalled that the Government has planned had formulated a special scheme for award of LPG distributorship/retail outlets to widows or next of kin of Kargil Martyrs with a view to provide them a recurring source of livelihood. For enabling them to reap the true benefits of this scheme, the dealership are being provided in ready-to-operate state by the Oil Company. This involves an investment of around Rs. 45 lakh for a Retail Outlet and around Rs. 20 lakh for LPG distributorship.

    The Retail outlet has been aptly named after the Martyr as M/s R.K. Amar Shaheed Service Station. Kargil Martyr Naik Rakesh Kumar, was on an assignment to destroy the enemy bunkers on the fateful day. Para Commando Rakesh Kumar had already destroyed three bunkers before laying down his life on 28^th June 1999 at Point 4700 in high altitude area of Kargil in the finest tradition of the 18 Garhwal Rifles of Indian Army. Praising the bravery of our soldiers who fought the gruelling battle on the icy slopes of Kargil, Shri Naik said the valour and courage which they displayed were exemplary. They braved the cold at 1700 fret at a temperature of minus 50 degree Celsius brought victory to the Nation.

    Shri Naik called upon the countrymen to follow the examples set by the soldiers in other spheres of activities so that we are able to take the nation to greater heights. He commended the oil sector living upto the expectations by maintaining uninterrupted supplies of strategically important products during the war time as well as at the time when the nation faced severe natural calamities like the Gujarat earthquake, Orissa Super cyclone, etc.

    The Minister also informed that under another scheme for those soldiers/personnel of paramilitary forces/State & Central Government employees killed during action, the Government would allot around 75 LPG Agencies/Retail Outlets before the end of April 2002. This scheme was formulated with a view to provide recurring source of income to the widows/next of kin of those who laid down their lives to the cause of the nation. Under this transparent scheme with duly laid down guidelines, Government would be awarding LPG agencies/Retail Outlets every year to the extent of either 10 per cent of the Annual Plan or 75 in all whichever is less.