MOSCOW, September 16. / TASS /. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he would instruct the government to deliver on the idea of appointing Gazprom as the single operator of gas supply and gasification programs, he said on Wednesday at a meeting with the head of Gazprom, Alexei Miller.

"Okay, let me instruct the government to work it out, we will work it out with you," Putin said.

Miller said that the government is currently discussing a proposal to appoint Gazprom in charge of the construction of inter-settlement and intra-settlement gas pipelines, so that the company can supply gas directly to consumers' land plots.

"Without a doubt, this would accelerate the pace of gasification in the first place. Secondly, it would allow the constituent entities of the Russian Federation to earmark a greater amount of funding within their budget to heat power engineering and boiler houses," he said.

Earlier it was reported that the Russian Ministry of Energy intends to reduce the average period of connecting the population to gas from 240-280 days to 120-130 days by creating a single operator responsible for the procedure in each region. In most constituent entities of the Russian Federation, Gazprom can become such an operator. At present the authorities are looking for a funding source to accelerate the gasification process.

Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin said earlier that for Russian citizens, providing gas pipelines and intra-settlement networks directly to the boundary of the land plot may be free. As for the stove or boiler equipment, the consumers will have to make the choice themselves.