Nisha Nambiar : Pune, Sat Aug 17 2013, 03:29 hrs
The government is set to roll out the direct benefit transfer scheme for LPG subsidy in October
The Pune district boasts of a 57 per cent enrollment for Aadhaar cards, but only 12 per cent of the total LPG customers in the district have linked the Aadhaar details with their gas connections and bank accounts till now.
With the government all set to roll out the direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme for LPG subsidy in October, agencies are trying hard to get the customers to do the needful.
Head of the state federation of LPG agencies Usha Poonawalla said the agencies were trying to encourage people to give their Aadhaar card details as early as possible. Bharat Jain, head of Arihant Gas agency, said they were caught up with the Interactive Voice Response System updation so had to slow down on the registrations, while some other agencies said the government should get this done on its own rather than putting the onus on them.
The linking of Aadhaar ID with LPG consumer number and bank account is needed to avail of the subsidy provided on gas cylinders. As per the DBT scheme, the LPG consumers would have to buy cylinders at market price, which is almost double the subsidised rates, but this excess amount would be refunded as the subsidy that would be deposited directly to their bank accounts.
According to Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) authorities, around 18 per cent of its 12.5 lakh consumers have submitted the details, while 20 per cent of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited's 10 lakh consumers have done so. HPCL authorities said they were doing their bit by putting up banners and distributing pamphlets to encourage coverage. The Indian Oil Corporation has till now covered only 14 per cent of its consumers.
District officials who have been undertaking the Aadhaar drive said even though they had gradually improved the registrations, the linkage to gas connections had been very poor. Vasundhara Barve, an officer at the district collectorate, said around 44 lakh registrations for Aadhaar had been completed. "These many people have registered for Aadhaar card. But we cannot give details of how many of them have received the card yet," she said.
Of the 22 lakh LPG customers of all oil marketing companies in the district, only 12 per cent has Aadhaar linkage. "The pace has been slow. The onus is on the customers and the gas agencies," said Barve.
With just a month left for the subsidy transfer scheme to start, government officials and gas agencies feel, there is bound to be chaos at the last moment.
Gas agencies said the government machinery should come to the forefront to help speed up this drive, adding that the authorities had promised additional Aadhaar machines to help them expedite the process, but failed to keep it.
The ongoing second phase of the Aadhaar drive is likely to see 66 districts, including Pune, being covered.
Those who have still not got their Aadhaar cards will be given a three-month grace period to get the card and link their LPG consumer number and bank account. During the grace period, they will continue to get the LPG cylinders at subsidised rate, as per their entitlement. After the grace period, the LPG cylinders will be sold to all domestic LPG consumers at the market price. The subsidy will be transferred to only those who have linked their Aadhaar number with LPG consumer number and bank account.
The Aadhaar drive has seen 11 lakh registrations in PCMC areas, 20 lakh in PMC and 22 lakh in Pune rural areas, according to the district officials.
Aadhar coverage in Pune
44,26,959
Total registrations for Aadhaar
22,55,566
Registrations in Pune rural areas
20,57,826
Registrations in PMC areas
11,66,344
Registrations in PCMC areas
