The Union Government’s announcement that direct cash transfer of subsidies to LPG customers would be launched in the State from next month in a phased manner has left LPG customers confused.
For, the government has stated that under the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme, Aadhaar card is mandatory to avail of the cash subsidy, while a Union Minister said in the Rajya Sabha that the UID card was not mandatory to avail of any government subsidy, including LPG cylinders.
Responding to the issue raised by several MPs on August 23, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajeev Shukla said, “It (Aadhaar card) is not mandatory (to avail of LPG subsidy). If any public sector (company) is doing it wrongly (sic), we will correct it.” Earlier on May 8, in a written reply, the Minister, said the same.
However, the Union Government on Wednesday announced that the Direct Cash Transfer Scheme for LPG subsidy would be launched in 25 districts of Tamil Nadu from next month in two phases.
The Centre also stated that all customers must get their Aadhaar number linked to their LPG consumer number and bank account within a three-month grace period once the scheme is launched. After the grace period, only those with Aadhaar cards will be eligible to avail of the subsidy that puts `532 for a cylinder (maximum 9 cylinders in a year). This would mean those without the card will have to bear the entire market cost of `930 per cylinder. Adding to some customers’ woes is the fact that even those whose biometric details were collected as early as February are yet to receive the cards.
“I have been given a receipt mentioning my Unique Identification Number in February. Though I have been trying to link the number with my bank account,the banks refused it saying the card is compulsory to complete the procedure,” said a senior executive with a media company in Chennai.
Oil company officials in Tamil Nadu have denied receiving any official communication over the scheduled launch of the scheme in the State. “We have not received any communication from the Ministry regarding it,” said a senior official with IOC.
However, the officials maintained that when the DBT scheme is launched, linkage of Aadhaar cards with bank accounts would become mandatory to avail of the cash benefits.