Saturday, 15 November 2014 - 6:35am IST Updated: Saturday, 15 November 2014 - 10:22am IST | Place: New DelhiMumbai | Agency: DNA
The government will launch the modified Direct Benefit Transfer Scheme of LPG subsidy on Saturday. As a part of the plan, eleven states will be covered in the new scheme. Consumers in 54 districts will now get the subsidy transferred directly into their bank accounts.
"The government has comprehensively reviewed the scheme and after examining the difficulties faced by the consumer substantively modified the scheme prior to launch. The modified DBTL scheme is being re-launched in 54 districts on November 15 in the first Phase and in the rest of the country on January 1, 2015," an official statement said.
Apprising about its preparedness to take up the cash transfer, the finance ministry said, "As on November 11, Kerala was declared as 100 per cent saturated state (in terms of coverage of all households with at least one bank account). In addition, Goa, union territories of Chandigarh, Puducherry and Lakshadweep, and three districts of Gujarat – Porbandar, Mehasana, Gandhi Nagar, have also covered all households under Jan Dhan Yojana with at least one bank account."
Meanwhile, banking secretary Hasmukh Adhia has asked banks to brace up for the new scheme launch on Saturday.
LPG cylinders will be available at subsidised prices for a period of only three months starting November 15. From February 15, 2015 till May 14, 2015, all cylinders will be sold at the market price but consumers who join the direct benefit transfer scheme during this period will receive their entitled subsidy upon registration. Consumers who join after May 15, 2015 will receive a onetime permanent advance and will receive further subsidy when they purchase a cylinder, officials said.
The consumers, who wish to register for the scheme, will have two options. One, all Aadhaar card holders need to fill Form 1 to get their Aadhaar number linked to their bank account number. This form can then be handed over to the bank or to a LPG distributer. Once this is done, consumers then need to link their Aadhaar number with their LPG consumer number. This can be done by submitting Form 2, or by reaching out the call centre at 1800-2333-555.
Now, those consumers who do not have an Aadhaar card will need to inform their LPG distributor of the bank account in which they would wish to receive their subsidy. They can also get it done online on the website www.mylpg.in. For non-Aadhaar card consumers, their LPG consumer details can be submitted through Form 3 to their bank. The government wants to ensure that no consumer can be denied the subsidy.
