TNN | Dec 5, 2014, 01.48AM IST
PUNE: The Modified Direct Benefit Transfer of LPG (DBTL), which recently came to be known as PAHAL, will not only help consumers get subsidy directly into their bank accounts without Aadhaar, but will also enable them to opt out of receiving subsidy if they choose to.
The modified scheme provides consumers with an option to voluntarily opt out of the DBTL scheme by submitting a declaration to the effect if they do not wish to avail subsidy. The recently introduced provision assumes significance after union finance minister Arun Jaitley revealed that the government is considering doing away with LPG subsidy for the well-off.
As per the provision, LPG customers can fill 'Form 5' under the scheme, affirming that he/she wants to be supplied all the domestic LPG cylinders against their LPG connection at market price, submitting the same to their distributor.
Meanwhile, the modified DBTL sheme will be implemented in Pune from January 1. With just 36% Aadhaar seeding with bank accounts in Pune district as against 45% with LPG dealers, officials are counting on the second option under the 'modified' scheme, where consumers can link their bank accounts to the LPG ID (distinctive 17 digit ID, which can be found at www.mylpg.in ) to receive subsidy directly into their bank accounts.
The linking process is in progress and oil marketing companies (OMCs) have urged consumers to get their Aadhaar linked with the dealer and the bank. If consumers do not have the Aadhaar number, they could link their bank accounts to their LPG ID at the earliest because cylinders will be available at market rate from April 1 next year. An OMC official said that those who do not complete this linking process will not receive subsidy amount into their accounts.
A company official told TOI that linking Aadhaar to bank account and LPG consumer account is necessary. Though every LPG consumer does not have an Aadhaar card as yet, the Modified Direct Benefit Transfer of LPG (DBTL) scheme has been launched to make sure LPG subsidy is not denied to any consumer.
"Those who do not have an Aadhaar number, can either give their bank account details (bank account holder name/account number /IFSC code) to the distributor to be stored in the LPG database or give their unique 17-digit LPG consumer ID to their bank," said the official adding that such a consumer then becomes CTC (Cash Transfer Compliant) and is ready to receive the subsidy in his bank account.
Officials said that those who had earlier joined the DBTL scheme and have already linked their Aadhaar card number to their bank account and the LPG consumer number, need not do anything as the subsidy will be transferred into their accounts based on the earlier linking.
OMCs in Pune have already begun informing consumers about the process through SMSs, banners and leaflets and hope to get as much as 90% consumer seeding through banks and Aadhar done till the scheme is launched in January.
As of now, the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) has around 38% CTC customers (those that have linked their Aadhaar numbers with bank accounts and LPG consumer number) while Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) has 37% CTC customers in Pune region. Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) has 42% CTC customers in Pune district.
Pravin Khandalkar, secretary of the All India Indane LPG Distributors Association and owner at city-based Radha Krishna Indane, said, "Those who do not have an Aadhaar card will be given three months to become Cash Transfer Compliant (CTC) customers. During this period, they would continue to get their entitlement of subsidized cylinders. At the end of the grace period, non-CTC LPG customers will get a three-month 'parking period', when they will be provided cylinders at market prices."
The subsidy due to such customers will, however, be stored or parked during this period with the respective oil marketing company to be transferred to the customer's bank account once he becomes a CTC customer during the parking period.
