India can save as many as 150,000 lives annually by switching from wood and dung cakes to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in the kitchens, according to a study.
In large parts of rural India, firewood and dung cakes continue to be used as fuels instead of gas. To promote the usage of gas, the Centre has run schemes over the past decade such as the Ujjwala Yojana.
The think tank Vital Strategies in a new report has said that a transition to LPG may not just save 150,000 lives but may also add approximately 3.7 million ‘healthy years’ to the Indian population.
The most impact will be seen in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, and Madhya Pradesh, according to the study.
The usage of wood or dung cakes leads to household air pollution (HAP) and the adoption of LPG would rule it out. The transition would mean that fewer cases of lung-related cases would be reported from HAP, particularly amongst those who work in the kitchen.
Health improvement would primarily be seen from reduced infant mortality related to low birth weight in children under five and fewer cases of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) amongst the elderly, according to the study.
Even though the Ujjwala Yojana partially subsidises LPG, the study notes that many households are so poor that they cannot even afford partially subsidised gas. The study calls for a broader subsidy for gas. The study says that the benefits will far outweigh the costs.
The study says it would cost Rs 8,800 to fully subsidise a household’s LPG supply whereas the benefits would range from about Rs 15 lakh for pregnant women’s households and Rs 62 lakh for general households. The study further says that the transition to LPG would reduce household PM2.5 pollutants from 180 µg/m³ to 48 µg/m³.
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India can save 150,000 lives every year with LPG in rural kitchens: Study
