Many LPG distributors in the State have been on a wild goose chase for consumers from Below Poverty Line (BPL) list that is at least five years old.
Provided with a ward-wise list of names, gas agencies are now combing residential areas to find beneficiaries for the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, under which the BPL consumer need not pay any deposit but gets an LPG connection by just paying Rs. 999 for the stove after providing Aadhaar and bank details.
“The connection is provided in the name of the woman head of the house. However, in many places, the beneficiaries on the list either have LPG connections already or have shifted to other places. There are no mobile phone numbers attached to the names,” a distributor said.
An agency just kept aside the list since everyone in the area had connections. “Even the number of new connections we release for families that move into the city or for newly weds has come down now,” said a dealer.
In places like Chennai, where large numbers of slum dwellers have been rehabilitated at Kannagi Nagar and Perumbakkam slum board tenements, the list is of no use. “After last year’s floods, many people have shifted to other places,” said the dealer.
‘140 per cent coverage’
According to oil companies, Chennai city has 140 per cent LPG coverage and the State, a total of 91 per cent. This means the number of beneficiaries under the scheme will be very less. “Across the State as of now, 4,977 Know Your Customer (KYCs) have been submitted, out of which 1,117 are cleared,” said an oil industry source.
However, many BPL families are not aware of the scheme. Rahmat, a resident of Thoraipakkam, said she used a kerosene stove for cooking and had no idea she could get a gas connection at such a rate. But she can get a connection only if her name is found on the list, said a dealer.
