Several customers attending the high level committee meeting of Direct Benefit Transfer of LPG subsidies (DBTL) said that existing system has resulted in problems, including non-transfer of subsidies, here on Wednesday.
Anitha, an LPG customer said that DBTL had benefitted only 10 per cent of the population. “I have been running from pillar to post with regard to the scheme. However, there is no appropriate agency to redress the grievances,” she said.
Naveen N, said that tracing the subsidies was an issue, while only persons with access to net banking could ensure whether subsidies have been transferred to their account or not. “Others, especially people from rural areas have to run between the banks and the distributors to know whether they have received subsidies,” he said.
Complaints with regard to difficulties in paying full amount to a LPG cylinder in rural areas, issues with respect to private banks in transfer of subsidies, banks insisting on maintaining minimum balance in accounts and others were raised during the meeting. They added that though it was an ‘innovative scheme’, there was a need to improve upon it, to ensure that people are not denied benefits.
However, the customers acknowledged that DBTL had considerably improved the speed at which LPG cylinders are delivered, after a cylinder is booked.
During the interaction with representatives of various banks, issues such as the five to six per cent gap in seeding between LPG distributors and banks and strategies to improve seeding and mapping, overcoming complaints of failed transactions during subsidy transfers and others were discussed.
Lead bank manager, K N Shivalingaiah said that in some cases there were differences between the information received by LPG distributors and the banks.
“There are incidents, when distributor portal says that the transfer of subsidies have been successful, whereas it will not be credited in the bank account.”
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