Aadhaar: SC ruling brings relief for some

Apex court says it’s not mandatory to link Aadhaar card to govt schemes

Those who are being denied subsidy for LPG cylinders for want of an Aadhaar card linkage can now heave a sigh of relief.

On Monday, a bench of the Supreme Court ordered that no citizen should be denied government benefits for not having the Aadhaar card. This would mean that the Aadhaar cannot be linked to government schemes.

The response to the apex court order from officials has been guarded.

A setback

Officials in the city have acknowledged that the order could be a setback to their ongoing efforts to link the biometric card to LPG subsidy. They, however, maintained that it is too early to draw inferences from the order and they would rather ‘wait and watch’ for further clarity on the issue.

“We need more clarity on the Supreme Court order. We can’t react or draw any conclusions until higher authorities get the order papers and study them properly.

“We are also waiting for suggestions from higher authorities,” says LPG Gas co-ordinator, Hyderabad, Madhukar Ingole.

Slow pace

Attempts to link Aadhaar with LPG subsidy has been a bone of contention due to inordinate delays in the issue of the biometric cards and the slow pace in linking bank accounts for electronic transfer of the subsidy.

There have been many complaints from families, who have not been receiving subsidies to their bank accounts due to delay in effecting the linkage.

So far, the LPG cylinder subsidy amount that has been transferred directly to the bank accounts of beneficiaries is between Rs. 122 and Rs. 130 crore.

Only 42 per cent of LPG gas users in Hyderabad and 47 per cent in Ranga Reddy district have so far successfully managed to link their bank accounts to Aadhaar Card.