With the expiry of the grace period for seeding Aadhar numbers ending on August 31, Chief Minister N Rangasamy has written to Union Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily to extend the deadline by two months, to enable all LPG consumers to avail the subsidy.
Official sources said, in a letter sent last week, Rangasamy said, though the Aadhar enrolment is high in Puducherry (91 per cent), the seeding by oil marketing companies to consumer numbers and corresponding linking to bank accounts were not up to the mark.
In Puducherry, only 53 per cent of the 2.38 lakh consumers have got their Aadhar cards seeded to their bank accounts and linked by the LPG consumer numbers. As much as 76 per cent consumers have seeded their Aadhar with their LPG consumer numbers.
Rangasamy also cited the difficulties faced by the consumers. “If the time for seeding is extended by two months up to October, it will enable those consumers left out to get their Aadhar seeded so that they can avail the Direct Benefit Transfer,” said Rangasamy.
As many as 1,10,966 LPG consumers are yet to get Aadhar seeding of bank accounts. Out of that 53,265 have sent the Aadhar details, but are yet to have the accounts seeded. The remaining 57,701 have been left out of even seeding with LPG consumer numbers, according to official data from Government of Puducherry.
Among those left out, several people are still awaiting Aadhar seeding even after two months of submission of Aadhar number to banks. The reason being delays by banks in sending the data from the drop boxes for seeding to their corporate offices in metros for uploading, as the facility is not there in Puducherry.
There are several others who are awaiting Aadhar number and do not know how to use the Aadhar enrolment number to generate e-Aadhar or where to go for assistance. The Department of Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs have informed that people could call the toll free number 18002333555 for enquiries regarding aadhar seeding.