LPG cash transfer scheme 'put on hold'

Several liquified petroleum gas (LPG) consumers of the State, especially from Mysore and Tumkur districts, will heave a sigh of relief as the Direct Benefit Transfer of LPG (DBTL) subsidies have been put on hold across the country.

From Monday, both consumers, who either have or have not seeded their LPG consumer numbers and bank account numbers with Aadhaar numbers, will be able to get subsidies. However, whether the subsidies will be remitted to consumers, who have not received them during a period when Aadhaar-based DBTL was mandatory, is not yet unclear.

A letter from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, dated February 28, 2014, has advised all oil marketing companies that DBTL has been kept in abeyance in 291 DBTL districts of the country. With the DBTL on hold, consumers will be able to receive 12 cylinders per year at subsidised rates.

Speaking to Deccan Herald, Dilip Rai, Deputy General Manager, Indian Oil Corporation, said DBTL was only ‘put on hold’ and the ‘seeded’ status of the consumers will be same, in case, the government re-introduces DBT.

The DBTL was made mandatory in Mysore district in October 2013, following a three-month grace period for the seeding process. The DBTL was in effect in Mysore district for the past five months, during which, in spite of a Supreme Court interim order, consumers who had not completed the seeding process, did not receive subsidies. Dilip said the letter from the Union Ministry, makes no mention of how to deal with the issue. Responding to a query, he said, there was no data on the number of LPG consumers, who did not receive subsidies during the mandatory implementation of the scheme in Mysore and Tumkur districts.