CHENNAI: On the eve of the launch of Direct Benefit Transfer for LPG (DBTL), only around 35-40 percent of consumers in Tamil Nadu have completed the registration process that will entitle them to receive the subsidy directly in their bank accounts.
The gas connections of such consumers are marked Cash Transfer Compliant (CTC). This is lower than the national average which stands at 43 percent according to official figures. Nationally, the scheme will cover over 15.3 crore consumers across 676 districts in the country. Currently, nationwide, over 6.5 crore consumers have joined the scheme and will receive the subsidy in their bank account.
From January 1, a one-time advance of `568 will be remitted into the accounts of CTC consumers immediately after they book their first cylinder.
In addition, if people have made a booking earlier, say on December 30, and the gas is delivered on or after January 1, the advance will be remitted on Thursday morning, an oil company official said. The current rate of a subsidised LPG cylinder in Chennai is `405 and the market rate is `749.5.
Those who are not CTC yet will continue to receive cylinders at the subsidised rates till March 31. From April 1, all cylinders will be sold at the market price.
According to the official, completing the registration process has been slow as the banks had not received any instructions.
“Oil company officials had a meeting with bank officials on December 19 and they promised to speed up the process,” the official said, adding that they were expecting a spurt in numbers soon.
“We are targeting 90 percent CTC by January 15.”
Among Tamil Nadu’s districts, 55 per cent of Ariyalur’s gas consumers are CTC, while Chennai (29 per cent), Thiruvallur (30 per cent) and Kanchipuram (31 per cent) are lower than State average. Tiruvannamalai has registered the lowest percentage CTC (25 per cent) as on December 30.