Direct Benefit Transfer of LPG scheme from today

The Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas launches the modified Direct Benefit Transfer of LPG (DBTL) scheme from Saturday.

Originally the erstwhile United Progressive Alliance(UPA) government launched the DBTL scheme on June 1, 2013 at select cities including Puducherry and finally covered 291 districts.

Aadhaar number
The DBTL required the consumer to mandatorily have an Aadhaar number for availing LPG subsidy but the scheme was stopped mid-way following opposition from public and political parties.

After reviewing the scheme and examining the difficulties faced by the consumers, the BJP-led NDA government substantively modified the scheme prior to launch.

The modified DBTL scheme is being re-launched in 54 districts including Puducherry in the first phase and will be extended to the rest of the country on January 1, 2015.

According to a press release from the Ministry, consumers who had joined the scheme earlier and had received cash subsidy in their bank accounts do not need to do anything further.

To confirm this, they should check their CTC (cash transfer compliant) status on www.MyLPG.in.

Consumers who affirm that they do not have Aadhaar number, can receive cash directly in their bank account without producing Aadhaar. As and when they get Aadhaar they may have to shift to Aadhaar based cash transfer.

According to data provided by the government of Puducherry, 11,45,076 Aadhaar cards have been generated in the Union Territory, which includes Karaikal, Yanam and Mahe, which is 92 per cent of the total population. In respect of Puducherry, the total Aadhaar cards generated are 9,25,323 which is 98 per cent of the total population.

Grace period
The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural gas said consumers who are not CTC will get a 3 month ‘grace period’ during which they will receive the cylinders at subsidised rate. After the grace period, they will get an additional period of 3 month as ‘parking period’.

During the ‘parking period’ they will have to buy cylinders at the market rate. If the consumer joins the scheme within the ‘parking period’, the subsidy as per entitlement and consumption during ‘parking period’ will be transferred to his bank account.

The permanent advance is paid in the bank account of consumers as soon as they make the first booking for a cylinder after joining the scheme, prior to the delivery.

SMS
As part of the improvements to the scheme, consumers will now receive SMS at every stage of enrolment in the scheme.

To avail of this feature all LPG consumers are requested to register their mobile number with their distributor if they have already not done so.

They are also advised to receive cylinders only with cash memos to be assured of their cash transfer.