After the success of the pilot programme in 20 districts, the scheme to pay domestic cooking gas (LPG) consumers cash subsidy will be extended to 289 districts in the country by January 1.

Under the scheme, Rs 435 is deposited in the bank accounts of household LPG consumers in advance so as to help them purchase a 14.2-kg LPG cylinder at market price, which is more than double of the Rs 410 per bottle rate in Delhi.

The moment the refill is bought, the subsidy prevalent on that day will be credited to the Aadhaar-linked bank account of the LPG consumer for another cylinder. In all, cash subsidy is provided for nine refills in a year under the Direct Benefit Transfer for LPG (DBTL) Scheme.

An official statement said DBTL has been extended to 54 districts including West Godavari in Andhra Pradesh, West Goa, Shimla in Himachal Pradesh, Kottayam in Kerala, Hoshangabad in Madhya Pradesh, Amravati in Maharashtra and Ludhiana in Punjab.

“The Government has decided to extend the DBTL Scheme in 235 more districts by January 1, in phases, depending on Aadhaar penetration. With this roll-out, almost half the country, covering 289 districts, will get covered,” it said.

The DBTL in 54 districts currently covers 21.9 million LPG consumers and Rs 222 crore in subsidy has been transferred through 5.3 million transactions into the bank accounts of the LPG consumers so far.

“In order to avail of transfer of cash subsidy into their bank accounts, the Aadhaar number of the LPG consumer has to be linked to the LPG consumer number and bank account, for which a three months grace period from the date of launch is being provided,” the statement said.

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