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Aadhaar-based LPG Subsidy still not disconnected; Govt to set up panel to review Linkage

<p style="text-align:justify"><span style="color:#696969"><span style="font-size:11px"><span style="font-family:arial">Oil companies continue to collect Aadhaar numbers of cooking-gas consumers as the government is again discussing the merits of the scheme after the Cabinet abruptly de-linked the subsidy on the kitchen fuel from Aadhaar cards, which Congress leader had lauded as a big step for better governance.</span></span></span></p> <p style="text-align:justify"><span style="color:#696969"><span style="font-size:11px"><span style="font-family:arial">Top government sources said that de-linking of Aadhaar cards from the subsidy on cooking has still not been notified although the Cabinet decision to raise the supply of cheap gas cylinders has been notified.</span></span></span></p> <p style="text-align:justify"><span style="color:#696969"><span style="font-size:11px"><span style="font-family:arial">Both decisions were taken on Thursday. Officials said some clarifications about the decisions are likely to be issued. &quot;The government is considering fine-tuning the decision of supplying only one subsidised cylinder per month.</span></span></span></p> <p style="text-align:justify"><span style="color:#696969"><span style="font-size:11px"><span style="font-family:arial">Some may consume more than one cylinder in month, but they will get only 12 subsidised cylinders in a financial year,&quot; a senior government official with direct knowledge of the matter told.</span></span></span></p> <p style="text-align:justify"><span style="color:#696969"><span style="font-size:11px"><span style="font-family:arial">The government will set up a committee to review linkage of cooking gas consumers with their respective Aadhaar numbers, which aims to check diversion, officials said. &quot;Orders have been issued to companies to immediately raise cap on supply of subsidised cylinder from nine to 11 by March and 12 in the next financial year. But, no order has yet been issued to stop collecting Aadhaar numbers. The effort towards targeted subsidy continues,&quot; the official quoted earlier said.</span></span></span></p> <p style="text-align:justify"><span style="color:#696969"><span style="font-size:11px"><span style="font-family:arial">A senior oil ministry official said the government would clarify issues of getting more than one cylinder in a month and continue linking cooking gas consumers with their respective Aadhaar numbers soon.</span></span></span></p> <p style="text-align:justify"><span style="color:#696969"><span style="font-size:11px"><span style="font-family:arial">&quot;So far, companies are not told to stop collecting Aadhaar numbers of their consumers,&quot; he said. Last week, the Congress-led UPA government had suspended its ambitious direct cash transfer of cooking gas subsidy to bank accounts of about 15 crore customers while raising the cap on supply of subsidised cylinders from nine to 12 on direction of the party vicepresident Rahul Gandhi.</span></span></span></p> <p style="text-align:justify"><span style="color:#696969"><span style="font-size:11px"><span style="font-family:arial">The Cabinet&#39;s decision would raise government&#39;s subsidy burden by INR 5,000 crore annually, oil minister Veerappa Moily had told reporters after the Cabinet meeting on Thursday. The direct cash transfer of cooking gas subsidy on bank accounts of consumers was launched on 01.06.2013 and top Congress leaders had boasted that the scheme would be a game changer in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.</span></span></span></p> <p style="text-align:justify"><span style="color:#696969"><span style="font-size:11px"><span style="font-family:arial">But, unpopularity of the scheme forced the government to retract midway, UPA leaders and government officials said. The scheme, also known as the direct benefit transfer to LPG consumer (DBTL), had already covered about 9.5 crore consumers in 291 districts, according to an oil ministry statement issued last week. India has about 15 crore LPG customers.</span></span></span></p> <p style="text-align:justify"><span style="color:#696969"><span style="font-size:11px"><span style="font-family:arial">Source-On Request</span></span></span></p>