CHENNAI: Only 6.6 per cent of LPG connections in the city have been fully registered for the DBTL scheme as on December 16, reveal official figures.
Oil companies mark such registrations as Cash Transfer Compliant (CTC), indicating that they have been keyed in the system to receive subsidy amount in their bank accounts. Districts like Ariyalur, Tiruchy and even a backward district like Dharmapuri have registered over 20 per cent CTC.
Addressing reporters here on Wednesday, oil company officials said this was a worrisome trend. With 85 per cent LPG penetration, Tamil Nadu is one of the highest in the country (national average 52), and such a low turnout in Chennai is a cause for worry. “We appeal to the people to come out and register for the DBTL as soon as they can,” an official said.
The figures for Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram neighbouring Chennai, don’t look great either at 5 and 9 per cent respectively. Another official pointed out that this could be because of the Aadhaar generation figures of Chennai district. “Moreover, banks also have to speed up the process at their end,” he added.
To address this issue, oil company officials will be working non-stop even on weekends till January 15. Locations where registrations are low have been identified and weekend camps, like the one on December 14, will be conducted. “Sunday camps will be held in Kolathur, Anna Nagar, Porur, Pallavaram and Minjur on December 21,” an official said. Camps are also planned at Indian Oil offices in Madurai, Tiruchirapalli and Coimbatore.
For rural areas in Vellore and Tiruvannamalai districts, camps will be held at the taluk offices on Saturday due to TNPSC exams on Sunday.
Further, a meeting has been planned on December 19 with bank officials to discuss methods to speed up the process at their end, the official added.