LPG consumers across the country will from Thursday get cash subsidy directly into their bank accounts so that they buy the cooking fuel at market price.
Domestic LPG users will get Rs. 568 in the bank account the moment they join the Direct Benefit Transfer Scheme for LPG, which has now been renamed PAHAL. They will have to use this money to buy 14.2-kg refill at the market price.
Currently, the subsidised LPG costs Rs. 417 per 14.2-kg cylinder while a market-priced refill costs Rs. 752 in Delhi.
It will be priced higher in other cities depending on local taxes.
The ambitious plan, launched by the previous UPA government in June 2013 but abruptly stopped earlier this year following court orders, has been modified to exclude the requirement of unique identification number (Aadhaar) for availing the cash subsidy.
“Consumers who wish to join the scheme will have to either link their Aadhaar number into their bank account and their LPG consumer number or if they do not possess Aadhaar number, they will have to link their bank account directly with their 17 digit LPG Id,” an official statement said.
PAHAL or ‘Pratyaksh Hanstantarit Labh’ was rolled out in 54 districts from November 15 and will extend to rest of the country from January 1.
Under the scheme, LPG consumers will get cash subsidy to buy twelve 14.2-kg cylinders or 34 five-kg refills.
Cash equivalent to the difference between the current subsidised rate and the market price is transferred to the bank account of a consumer the moment he or she makes the first booking for a cylinder after joining the scheme. The moment a consumer takes delivery of the cylinder, another advance cash subsidy is transferred to the bank account.
