The Civil Sub Committee of the Public Accounts Committee is learnt to have adopted a report on the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) and has asked the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry to make the scheme “consumer friendly.”
The pet scheme of the BJP was launched in May 2016. The Comptroller and Auditor General in a report on the on the PMUY in 2019 had noted that encouraging the sustained usage of LPG remains a big challenge as the annual average refill consumption of 3.18 crore PMUY beneficiaries revealed that refill consumption was 3.21 refills per annum.
More refills needed
“There are two main reasons why the refilling did not go beyond even one cylinder. First that the refilling stations were very far away and the second and most important fact is that the cost of even one subsidised cylinder, which is about ₹ 1,000 was not affordable to poor households,” a member in the panel told BusinessLine.
He added that the sub committee has recommended that BPL households must get at least a few cylinders for free every year and the gas cylinders must be made available in rural areas so that consumers do not have to spend for transportation of cylinders. “Our report will be finalised in the main committee,” he added.
The Ministry is learnt to have objected to the findings of the PMUY in the sub committee. “The Ministry said the scheme is running smoothly. But we were convinced by the CAG’s arguments that there are many loopholes that have to be plugged,” the MP said.
‘Correct anomalies’
The PMUY is aimed to provide five crore deposit free LPG connections to women in BPL families. The PAC’s sub committee also approved the CAG’s finding that many connections were given in the name of men and minors in the families. “We have recommended all such anomalies should be corrected. The scheme is primarily for the benefit of poor women,” he added.
The member said the sub committee also came to know that the subsidy accruing to the consumer on LPG refills was not provided under Direct Benefit Transfer or the transfer of the subsidy was delayed for months. “Many consumers complained that they did not receive the subsidy. With the increase in prices of cylinders, they are forced to go back to using firewood,” the member added.
The sub panel also agreed with the CAG’s recommendation that Aadhaar numbers of all adult family members of existing as well as new beneficiaries should be entered in the system to prevent duplication and misuse. “We agreed with the recommendation of the CAG that appropriate input controls, data validations and mandatory fields should be deployed in distributors’ software to prevent ineligible beneficiaries from getting LPG connection,” the member said.