Kerala seeks 6 months for Aadhaar link to LPG users

The Kerala government on Saturday sought a six-month extension from the Centre to link LPG customers’ bank accounts and Aadhar card.

The request was made in a 12-point memorandum sent by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy that came up during a special Cabinet meeting presided over by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

“We would require more time as bringing the large migrant labour and NRI population into the net and creating a robust database is time-consuming,” the memorandum said.
The hike during the New Year’s day of non-subsidised LPG and prevailing confusion over transfer of subsidies to consumer’s bank account have come under criticism from various parties in the state.

State Food and Civil Supplies Minister Anoop Jacob had slammed the hike, while the opposition LDF shouted slogans against it during Governor Nikhil Kumar’s address in the Assembly on Friday.

The prime minister was apprised of the state’s concerns over the K Kasturirangan-led panel’s report on environmental conservation of the Western Ghats.

The memorandum said the measures adopted by the panel to identify ecologically sensitive areas depending on remote sensing using satellite data were “totally erroneous”.

The state government has also requested commencing work on the proposed 236 km Nanjangud-Sultan Bathery-Nilambur railway line that would potentially link Mysore, Wayanad, Nilgiris, Guruvayur and Sabarimala.

Besides connecting Wayanad with Mysore airport and Bangalore by train, it will also be a ‘boon’ for those hit by blockage of road connectivity to protect wild animals, the memorandum stated.

While the state supported increase in the number of subsidised LPG cylinders, union petroleum minister Verappa Moily said no proposal for such an increase is before the ministry.

The current allocation of nine subsidised cylinders covers 90 per cent of the consumers, he told reporters in Kochi.