17 lakh LPG consumers to lose subsidy in region

Vijay C Roy

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 27

Over 17 lakh LPG customers in the region comprising Chandigarh, Punjab, HP and Jammu & Kashmir will not be able to get LPG subsidy in their bank accounts from December this year due to the non-submission of unique identification number (UIN) and Aadhaar number to their respective distributors.

The Centre has asked oil marketing companies (OMCs) not to transfer LPG subsidy to the bank accounts of eligible households unless their accounts are seeded with Aadhaar number.

Earlier, the deadline was September 30, but the government has extended the date till November 30, and thus given two months of grace period for citizens to get the unique identification number.

“Earlier, to avail the subsidy, the deadline was September 30, but with the government extending the deadline for another two months, consumers have time to submit their Aadhaar to their respective distributors by November 30, otherwise their subsidy will be discontinued. We have observed that around 17.35 lakh LPG consumers in Chandigarh, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir have not submitted their Aadhaar card,” said a senior official in an oil marketing company. 

According to data, in Punjab, around 6.76 lakh consumers (10.4%) have not submitted their Aadhaar numbers to their LPG distributors, as a result of which their account was not seeded. The total number of LPG customers in the state is around 65 lakh. 

Similarly, out of total LPG customers in Chandigarh, 30,180 households (10.06%) have not linked their bank accounts with Aadhaar. Overall, the UT has 3 lakh LPG customers. 

In case of HP, 9% (1.17 lakh customers) of the 9.12 lakh  customers have not submitted their Aadhaar number to their dealers.  In J&K, around 9.12 lakh consumers, a whopping 57% of the total consumers, is yet to submit their Aadhaar numbers. The state has a total consumer base of 16 lakh.