TNN | Jan 2, 2015, 04.00AM IST
BENGALURU: Want to continue getting LPG cylinders at subsidized rates? Then, don't ignore the text messages you receive asking you to register for the Direct Benefit transfer of LPG (DBTL) scheme. If you don't link your Aadhaar or bank account number with your gas distributor by March-end, you will stop getting cylinders at subsidized rates.
The DBTL scheme, now renamed Pahal, was re-launched in Bengaluru on Thursday. As earlier, Aadhaar number is not mandatory for joining the scheme. However, customers should have a bank account, to link it with the unique 17-digit LPG connection number.
Speaking to TOI, N Sathyan, secretary, All India LPG Dealers Federation, Karnataka Circle, said they are hoping for a good response. "Various gas agencies have been creating awareness of the scheme," he said.
DBTL was relaunched in 28 districts of Karnataka on Thursday, as part of 622 districts chosen for the scheme across the country. In November last year, 54 districts across the country, including Tumakuru and Mysuru in the state, were covered in the pilot re-launch of the project. "While Mysuru has achieved 99% coverage, Tumakuru has achieved 96% success," Sathyan said.
Only 40 lakh of the 93 lakh LPG customers in Karnataka have become Cash Transfer Compliant (CTC) — meaning have joined the scheme. The figures for Bengaluru are not encouraging either. There are over 27 lakh LPG customers in the city, and only 15% of them joined DBTL before it was halted in March 2014. The scheme was stopped following apprehension among consumers over linking it with Aadhaar and the Supreme Court's intervention.
The DBTL's coverage in the IT City could have crossed 37% by last December, sources said.
The scheme is aimed at removing fake gas connections and stop leakage of subsidy.
How it works:
Once an LPG customer joins Pahal (DBTL) scheme, he or she becomes cash transfer compliant
Rs 308 transferred to customer's account after a cylinder is booked
Once the cylinder arrives at the doorstep, the customer has to pay the market price
Rs 737 is the current market price of domestic non-subsidized 14.2 kg cylinder
Rs 425 is the price of a subsidized LPG cylinder
What to do:
* If you have Aadhaar
Link your Aadhaar number to your bank account by filling Form 1 and depositing it at either the bank or drop box at the LPG distributor office
Link your Aadhaar number to LPG connection by submitting Form 2 to the LPG distributor, sending it to the address given in the form, by contacting the call centre (18002333555) or logging on to rasf.uidai.gov.in
* If you don't have Aadhaar
Submit your bank account details by submitting Form 4 at your LPG distributor's office or uploading the details on mylpg.in
Fill LPG connection ID details in Form 3 and submit it at select bank branches (list available on petroleum.nic.in/dbtl)
*If you are under DBTL
If you had joined the previous DBTL scheme and had got the advance (subsidy) in your bank account then you don't have to do anything now
Note: Form 1,2,3 and 4 are available on mylpg.in and LPG distributors.