Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Dec 13: The registration of direct benefit transfer of LPG (DBTL) in the state should be completed by March 2015 otherwise consumers will deprived of the benefits, Union minister of state for petroleum and natural gas Dharmendra Pradhan said Saturday.
There has been only 10-12 per cent DBTL registration in Orissa till date, which is not encouraging, Pradhan told mediapersons after a review meeting here Saturday.
“My ministry has asked the state government to stick to the target of at least 2 per cent DBTL registration per day. The consumers will not be entitled to gas subsidy if they fail to link their bank accounts with the gas agencies concerned by March next year,” he said.
Pradhan also directed oil marketing companies (OMCs) to take up the issue with the state government for exempting LPG cylinders from entry tax for the benefit of the people of the state.
The Union minister reviewed the progress in the districts of Malkangiri, Sambalpur, Mayurbhanj and Puri through video conference with the collectors and other officials. He appreciated the models proposed by the collectors of Puri and Mayurbhanj and urged the banks to extend their support for the implementation of the scheme.
Pradhan also accepted the suggestion of officials to organise special camps for achieving Cash Transfer Compliance (CTC) and also engaging state-level executives in collecting information from consumers. He asked OMCs to make all efforts to achieve high CTC in a time-bound manner.
LPG consumers can avail subsidy directly in their bank accounts even if they do not have Aadhaar numbers as the government has modified the DBTL scheme. Consumers who had joined the scheme earlier and had received subsidy in their bank accounts need not re-apply.