More than 15 lakh ration cardholder families in Delhi will receive financial assistance towards LPG cylinders this Diwali, with the Government transferring `141.88 crore directly into their bank accounts. The assistance, ranging from `642 to `942 per family, is meant to help households cover cooking fuel costs during the festive season.
Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Tuesday initiated the transfer of funds to 15,45,994 eligible families through the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system at an event at Talkatora Stadium.
The Government said it credited the money to beneficiaries’ accounts as part of its commitment to provide financial support for Holi and Diwali. The assistance has been divided into two categories. A total of 1,24,964 families covered under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) will receive `642 each. Another 14,21,030 families outside the scheme will get `942 each.
The transfer is aimed at easing household expenses during the festival, when families face additional spending. The Government has chosen direct bank transfers to ensure that the assistance reaches eligible households without being routed through intermediaries.
Addressing the gathering, the Chief Minister said providing financial support to families during festivals was part of the Government’s commitment. She said the administration’s priority was to ensure that welfare benefits reached people directly. The scheme, she added, was intended to make the process simpler and more transparent while helping families manage their expenses.
The Government said the amount was transferred to the bank account of the head of each eligible family, linked to their Aadhaar number. Beneficiaries were identified after verification of ration card details and matching of the required data. Monitoring and audit mechanisms have also been put in place to check duplicate payments and prevent misuse of funds or other irregularities, according to the Government.
The latest transfer covers nearly 15.46 lakh families across the capital. Of the total beneficiaries, the overwhelming majority belong to the non-PMUY category, which accounts for more than 14.21 lakh households. The remaining nearly 1.25 lakh families are covered under the Ujjwala scheme.
The financial assistance is part of a festival support initiative under which ration cardholder families are to receive help towards LPG cylinders on two occasions each year, Holi and Diwali. The Tuesday transfer marks the Diwali instalment of the scheme.
The Chief Minister said Diwali was not limited to celebrations and lights, but was also an occasion to share happiness and support one another. She described the assistance as a step towards extending the benefits of Government schemes to families during the festive period. The event was attended by Member of Parliament Bansuri Swaraj, Cabinet Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa and MLAs Abhay Verma, Jitendra Mahajan, Kuldeep Solanki and Chandan Chaudhary, among other dignitaries.