7161 - LPG plan tides over hiccups - Telegraph India

LPG plan tides over hiccups Our Correspondent Patna, Jan. 3: The LPG subsidy scheme has started gaining momentum after initial hiccups witnessed in the first two days regarding credit of the subsidy amount in bank accounts of beneficiaries. The scheme was launched on January 1. Gas companies have claimed that all glitches in the central server, its connection with the cylinder distributors and the software being used under this scheme have been done away with. "The central server was working with the launch of the scheme in 54 districts in the country from November 14 last year. It was just some synchronisation and connectivity issues with few of the distributors on first day of the launch of the scheme on January 1. However, all such issues have been resolved and the subsidy amount is now getting credited in the bank account of the beneficiaries," said Arvind Kumar Gupta, deputy general manager (LPG), Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL). Earlier called the direct benefit transfer for LPG (DBTL) scheme and now Pahal (Pratyaksh Hanstantarit Labh), the system is meant to ensure that the subsidy reaches genuine customers. Under the scheme, a consumer has to buy cylinders at market price throughout the year. However, for the first 12 bookings, the government subsidy, depending upon the market price of a cylinder on the booking date, will be transferred to the consumer's bank account when an order is placed for a refill. When the cylinder is delivered at his home, he has to pay the market rate of the cylinder. The amount of advance to be credited against the first booking of the cylinder after a consumer enrols under Pahal scheme has been fixed at Rs 568. In case of subsequent cylinders, the subsidy amount to be credited in the bank of the beneficiaries would depend on the change in the respective market prices between the time of booking and delivery. For instance, the market price of a cylinder in Patna is Rs 825 at present, whereas subsidised rate of the same is Rs 441. Thus, the differential amount of Rs 378.88 would be transferred to the beneficiaries in the subsequent bookings. Consumers, who wish to join the scheme, are required to either link their Aadhaar number into their bank account and their LPG consumer ID. If they do not possess Aadhaar number, they are required to link their bank account directly with their 17- digit LPG ID. Bihar has 56.73 lakh LPG consumers, of which 39 per cent have already become cash transfer-compliant. IOCL officials claimed around 30 per cent of their consumers in the state have been enrolled under Pahal, whereas officials from Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) claimed the corresponding consumer coverage under this scheme to be 53.18 per cent. Though the initial deadline for enrolling under Pahal was December 31 last year, the government has given a grace period till March 31, during which consumers who have not linked their bank and gas accounts will continue to get the cylinder at subsidised rate at the time of delivery. After March, all consumers, irrespective of whether or not the consumers have enrolled under DBTL, would be charged at market price for buying cylinders.