HYDERABAD, February 18, 2015
Updated: February 18, 2015 05:42 IST
N. RAVI KUMAR
Close to 93 per cent of consumers or about 30 lakh families across Hyderabad, Ranga Reddy and Adilabad districts using subsidised liquefied petroleum gas have joined the modified-DBTL scheme.
By going through the process, of linking their cooking gas connection and bank account details and eventually this combo with Aadhaar number, they have ensured against missing out on LPG subsidy.
Under the M-DBTL (direct benefit transfer of LPG subsidy) scheme, the grace period to link the accounts as also to get LPG cylinders at subsidised price got over on February 14.
The three districts were part of 54 such across 11 States where the scheme was rolled out in November.
“They have become cash transfer compliant (CTC),” declares M.B. Ingole, State-level coordinator-LPG of the three oil companies.
HPCL, IOC and BPCL together have 31.61 lakh domestic LPG customers in the three districts.
Within the 93 per cent, only a small number of households are yet to link their Aadhaar, something, he says, could be because they have applied and yet to receive the ID number.
On the remaining seven per cent, he said their deadline ends May 15. “We are only selling non-subsidised cylinder (in the three districts),” he says, explaining that consumers yet to come onboard need to pay the non-subsidised price of Rs.675 per refill.
The CTC customer also purchases the cylinder at market price, he/she gets the subsidy money in his bank, while others need to become compliant to get the benefit.
In the ‘parking’ period till mid-May, the subsidy for non-CTC users will be kept in a separate account and paid once they join. Beyond mid-May, they are not eligible until they join.
In the remaining seven districts of Telangana, as also rest of the country, the M-DBTL was launched on January 1. Consumers at these locations too get three months each of grace period and parking period.
“It is around 84 per cent,” says Mr. Ingole on the progress of the scheme in the seven districts. LPG customer base of the companies in the State is 66.85 lakh.
Stating that many customers tend to wait till the last date, he said the process could be speeded up by banks becoming more proactive.
Nearly 30 lakh households in Hyderabad, R.R., Adilabad districts onboard