A modified Direct Benefit Transfer of LPG (DBTL) will be launched for 54 districts from November 15 and by January 2015 in rest of the country.
As part of the changes, Aadhaar number is no longer mandatory for getting the cash subsidy. The Government has now proposed that having a bank account is enough, a Ministry for Petroleum & Natural Gas release said. In the first phase, the scheme will cover 54 districts in 11 States with 2.33 crore households.
After November 15, consumers of 54 districts spread across States – Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Goa, and Telangana – and Puducherry as well as Daman and Diu, will be given a three-month grace period under which they will continue to receive cylinders at a subsidised rate.
After the end of the grace period they will have to get a bank account and join the scheme within three months or the ‘Parking Period’.
“During the ‘Parking Period’ they will have to buy cylinders at market rate. If the consumer joins the scheme within the ‘Parking Period’ the subsidy as per entitlement and consumption during the ‘Parking Period’ will be transferred to his/her bank account,” the statement said.
People who join the scheme will also be given a ‘permanent advance’ wherein they will get an advance subsidy as soon as they make the first booking of the cylinder. The advance will be given directly in the bank account and will be given prior to the delivery.
“This advance ensures that LPG customers have extra cash to pay for their first LPG cylinder at a market price. The permanent advance shall be notified for the consumers now joining the scheme separately,” an official statement said.