Deadline nearing to link bank details for LPG subsidy

Consumers wishing to avail the LPG subsidy under the Direct Benefit Transfer of LPG (DBTL) will have to do so by the end of this month.

The deadline for the consumers to link their Aadhaar and bank account details with LPG registration numbers is March 31. Even those without Aadhaar numbers can get their LPG numbers linked to the subsidy scheme by providing their bank account details to the respective distributors.

In an effort to meet this deadline, distributors are busy processing the DBTL seeding and have managed to include majority of the consumers under the scheme. The process began in a full-fledged manner in January this year. The scheme was originally introduced in 2013 but was discontinued to be reintroduced in November 2014, only in certain places.

After the March 31 deadline period is over, the LPG will be sold at the market price for consumers who do not wish to be part of the scheme. However, there will be a parking period of two months after the deadline, during which, those who have not joined the subsidy scheme will get another chance to be part of it.

The distributors have encouraged all the consumers to avail the benefit of the scheme and submit the relevant details before the deadline. Speaking to Deccan Herald, N Sathyan, Secretary of All India Distributors Federation (Karnataka Circle), said as on date they have managed to bring 83 percent of the consumers under the scheme and were in the process of including more.

The DBTL scheme makes provision for consumers to avail LPG at a subsidised price, once they have registered for it by providing their bank account and Aadhaar numbers to the distributors. While the consumers have to pay the market price while purchasing the LPG, the subsidised amount will be deducted form it and the surplus amount will be deposited in their bank accounts. In this process, the LPG distributors will link the customers’ gas registrations and the Aadhaar numbers. Also, in turn, banks will link bank account numbers with the Aadhaar numbers. Once this is done, the consumer will be Cash Transfer Compliant (CTC).