Uttarakhand has 20 lakh lPG consumers of whom 55 per cent have already become Cash Transfer Compliant (CTC), said Dhirendra Kumar, manager (lPG-sales), Indian Oil Corporation limited, Dehradun Area office, on Tuesday. The Pratyaksh Hanstantrit labh (PAHAl) ie Direct Benefit Transfer of lPG (DBTl) scheme was launched in Uttarakhand on January 1, 2015.
A consumer can avail subsidy without Aadhaar as well through a bank account and Aadhaar is not compulsory for joining the PAHAl scheme, he added. DBTl is designed to ensure that the benefit meant for the genuine domestic customer reaches them directly and is not diverted. By this process, public money will be saved. lPG consumers, who do not wish to avail the lPG subsidy for lPG cylinders, can simply choose to opt out of subsidy. Over 12,000 citizens have already voluntarily given up subsidy freeing up crores of subsidy amount for their less privileged brethren.
Kumar said that the consumers, who wish to join the scheme, will have to either link their Aadhaar numbers with their bank accounts or if they do not possess Aadhaar number yet they will have to link their bank accounts directly with their 17-digit lPG Id. Once a consumer joins the scheme, he will get the cylinders at market price and will receive lPG subsidy directly in his bank account. A sum of Rs568 will be paid in advance in the bank account of the consumer, who now joins the scheme, as soon as he makes the first booking for a cylinder. This is in addition to subsidy due on each cylinder.
He further said that camps are being set up at various banks and lPG distributors’ premises across the State to enable lPG consumers to open bank accounts and enroll for Aadhaar. To keep consumers informed of their status in the scheme, they will receive SMS at every stage in the scheme. To avail of this, all lPG consumers are requested to register their mobile numbers with their distributors.
Customers are also advised to receive cylinders only with cash memos to be assured of their subsidy transfer. The customers, who do not have bank accounts, must first open them and then submit the required details to their lPG distributor/Bank for becoming cash transfer compliant, he added.