The Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) of Kerosene subsidy under the Public Distribution System (PDS) is turning out to be a nightmare for the Government as there are indications that the scheme will remain on back burner for the next couple of months.
The scheme which was expected to start from April 1 is unlikely to come into effect before October 2013.
“We will be ready to implement the scheme in another four to five months,” said Secretary Food, PDS & Consumer Affairs, Ajay Kumar Singh adding “we had asked all four districts to start Aadhar enrollment.”
low penetration of Aadhar in four pilot districts of Jharkhand, where the scheme will be launched, is projected as the reason for the inordinate delay in implementing the DBT in Jharkhand.
A highly placed source in Food & Civil Supplies department said, “Seeding is going on in all pilot districts and unless all beneficiaries get Aadhar number the scheme will not be implemented.” Seeding will provide the financial address to which the subsidy will be credited. If the Aadhaar number and the bank account are not seeded, the money cannot be transferred, a fact acknowledged by the Government officials.
The first phase of the scheme will cover four pilot districts of Jharkhand- Ranchi, Ramgarh, Hazaribagh, Sarikela-Kharsawan. Singh added, “DBT in Kerosene will be implemented in four pilot districts only,” and not in other two districts which were later added among the pilot districts.
More than 47 lakh households in the State purchase Kerosene at the rate of `4.72 a litre through fair price shops in Jharkhand. Around 27 crore litres of kerosene is supplied under PDS in Jharkhand. In Ranchi alone 19.8 lakh litres of Kerosene is supplied under PDS for approximately 423036 households.