JOIN USSubmit Aadhaar to get LPG subsidy arrears
Domestic LPG customers can claim subsidy for refills that they got since July this year, if they submit the Aadhaar number to the LPG distributor before December this year.
Oil marketing companies – Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPC) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPC) – had suspended payment of subsidy to customers who had failed to submit Aadhaar numbers before July this year. But the companies have deposited the subsidy amount of their non-Aadhaar customers in a separate bank account.
“The Centre recently issued a notification making Aadhaar number mandatory for domestic LPG customers to avail subsidy on the refill supply from December this year. Hence, those who submit the Aadhaar number before December will get subsidy for all refills supplied to them since July this year. Those who submit Aadhaar after the deadline will not get this benefit,” IOC assistant general manager (LPG) Abhijit Dey said.
Karnataka has around 1.10 crore domestic LPG customers. Of these, about 95% have submitted Aadhaar numbers. Oil companies deposit the subsidy amount directly to the customers’ Aadhaar-linked bank accounts. However, a large number of customers are not getting subsidy due to some technical glitches in linking Aadhaar numbers with the bank account. With the subsidy amount on an LPG refill coming down to less than Rs 100 in recent months, many customers are not aware that they are not getting the subsidy in their bank account. Currently, a domestic LPG refill in Bengaluru carries a subsidy of Rs 63.77.
This apart, the Centre is likely to launch the Ujjwala scheme, to provide free LPG connections to non-LPG below poverty line (BPL) families in the state from November this year. Oil companies have so far received around two lakh applications for connections under the scheme. The LPG connections will be sanctioned to woman members of the BPL families under the Ujjwala programme, official sources in the IOC said.
On Centre’s footsteps
The state government will follow the Centre’s policy of making Aadhaar number mandatory for availing subsidy schemes. The Food and Civil Supplies department has almost completed linking all BPL ration cards with Aadhaar numbers, while the Revenue department is in the process of collecting the unique identity number from all beneficiaries of social security pensions.
When contacted, Food and Civil Supplies department Secretary Harsh Gupta said the department is awaiting approval from the government to make Aadhaar mandatory for issuing BPL ration cards. Close to 98% of BPL cards have already been linked to Aadhaar. About four lakh existing BPL cards have been found to be bogus and they will be cancelled once the government makes Aadhaar compulsory, he added.
The Revenue department has set February next year as the deadline to the Directorate of Social Security Pensions to collect Aadhaar numbers from all 52 lakh beneficiaries, official sources in the government said.
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Karnataka has around 1.10 crore domestic LPG customer and about 95% have submitted Aadhaar numbers
The government currently gives 12 cylinders of 14.2-kg each at subsidised rates per household in a year.
The subsidy on every cylinder is transferred in advance directly into bank accounts of individuals, who then buy the cooking fuel at market rates.
A domestic LPG refill in Bengaluru carries a subsidy of Rs 63.77
Oil companies have so far received around two lakh applications for connections under the Ujjwala scheme