<p>The State government’s ambitious initiative to sniff out multiple LPG connections from households has struck a wrong chord among citizens.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The de-duplication verification drive being undertaken by the State-owned oil companies through their respective distributors has only compounded consumers’ problems, especially those seeking new LPG connections, than speed up the process for which it was put into motion.<br /><br />Citizens are roiled that under the guise of de-duplication drive, gas agencies are fleecing them by asking them to pay non-subsidised rates for cylinders which cost Rs 950, as against the subsidised rate of Rs 420, till the current drive is duly completed.<br /><br />Clear directive<br /><br />In the absence of a clear directive on the matter, Rajarajeshwarinagar Resident Welfare Association member Diwakar R said, distributors were refusing to provide cylinders at subsidised rates.<br /><br />Koramangala resident Chandrappa claimed that the agency was sitting on his application for a new gas connection despite furnishing all proper documents.<br /><br />Dasarahalli resident Gayathri K said officials at the LPG distribution offices were exploiting the situation and expecting favours for clearing their applications for new connections. <br /><br />All India LPG Distributors Federation (Karnataka Circle) secretary Sathyan N, however, maintained that the de-duplication drive was to ensure a foolproof list of customers and penalise those found having multiple connections.<br /><br />While conceding that citizens were facing inconvenience, a senior official from the Food and Civil Supply Department said that once the drive was through, things would normalise.<br /><br />The directive from the union ministry says that new LPG customers have to wait till the de-duplication verification and Know Your Customer (KYC) forms’ verification process with the three oil companies, get over, to get subsidised cylinders. <br /><br />Only after ensuring there is no duplication, customers will be switched to a connection for subsidised cylinders, wherein they would receive six subsidised cylinders a year.<br /></p>
<p>The State government’s ambitious initiative to sniff out multiple LPG connections from households has struck a wrong chord among citizens.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The de-duplication verification drive being undertaken by the State-owned oil companies through their respective distributors has only compounded consumers’ problems, especially those seeking new LPG connections, than speed up the process for which it was put into motion.<br /><br />Citizens are roiled that under the guise of de-duplication drive, gas agencies are fleecing them by asking them to pay non-subsidised rates for cylinders which cost Rs 950, as against the subsidised rate of Rs 420, till the current drive is duly completed.<br /><br />Clear directive<br /><br />In the absence of a clear directive on the matter, Rajarajeshwarinagar Resident Welfare Association member Diwakar R said, distributors were refusing to provide cylinders at subsidised rates.<br /><br />Koramangala resident Chandrappa claimed that the agency was sitting on his application for a new gas connection despite furnishing all proper documents.<br /><br />Dasarahalli resident Gayathri K said officials at the LPG distribution offices were exploiting the situation and expecting favours for clearing their applications for new connections. <br /><br />All India LPG Distributors Federation (Karnataka Circle) secretary Sathyan N, however, maintained that the de-duplication drive was to ensure a foolproof list of customers and penalise those found having multiple connections.<br /><br />While conceding that citizens were facing inconvenience, a senior official from the Food and Civil Supply Department said that once the drive was through, things would normalise.<br /><br />The directive from the union ministry says that new LPG customers have to wait till the de-duplication verification and Know Your Customer (KYC) forms’ verification process with the three oil companies, get over, to get subsidised cylinders. <br /><br />Only after ensuring there is no duplication, customers will be switched to a connection for subsidised cylinders, wherein they would receive six subsidised cylinders a year.<br /></p>
