Public Private Partnership Model

Cooking fuel in rural India is mostly wood which women have to fetch from the
forest often spending an hour or more every day. A study undertaken by MART for HPCL in 2003 in 8 states found that the poor cannot afford LPG as the initial connection cost for a 14.2 kg cylinder is Rs 1,600 and the refill costs Rs 270. To address the affordability issue HPCL introduced a 5 kg cylinder at Rs 95 for a refill and initial connection cost of Rs 800.

On behalf of HPCL, MART has already rolled out over 1,600 community kitchens in 2,000-plus population villages in half-a-dozen States, where women from the poorer sections can experience the convenience of cooking with LPG in a pollution-free environment.

The PPP model involves the panchayat donating a small room
accessible to the socially and economically backward classes,
HPCL contributing gas stoves, LPG cylinders and cooking utensils and
a woman from the Self-Help Group (SHG) being appointed as
a caretaker. Women bring in their raw material and take back
cooked food paying a small fee of Rs 2. The money collected is used
to buy refilled cylinder and pay honorarium to the caretaker. Thus the model is economically viable.

HPCL Rasoi Ghar won MART the ‘Best Long Term Rural Marketing Gold Award
and the Special Jury Award 2005’ given by Rural Marketing Agencies Association
of India.