Pressure on citizens to relinquish LPG subsidy

Bengaluru: Be on your guard if you get a phone call from an unknown number wanting details of your LPG connection. You may lose your LPG subsidy amount for no fault of yours. Many city residents are realising that they have lost their LPG subsidy after answering a call starting with the number 011.

Shymal Prasad, a resident of Wilson Garden, informed that recently he had received a call inquiring whether he was interested in giving up his LPG subsidy amount, which was credited to his bank account number through the PAHAL (DBTL) scheme. Mr. Prasad informed the telecaller that he was not ready to give up his LPG subsidy. But to his shock when he booked a cylinder recently he was asked to pay the full amount and was told that he had given up his subsidy. A shocked Prasad is now trying to get back his subsidy.

Mr. Prasad’s is not the only instance. Many city residents claim that they also have received similar calls and pressure is being mounted on them to give up their subsidy amount. But officials from the state-owned oil firms deny any such tactics.

According to Mr. Rajesh P Holla, another consumer, he also received such a call recently. "I have not booked a new cylinder after receiving the call. Now I am scared, wondering whether my name has been added to the list of those who have joined the GiveItUp initiative, which is aimed at bringing down the total number of consumers who have a subsidized LPG connection,” he alleged.

Leave it to consumers

Many consumer activists have said that they think it’s unfair to call up the general public requesting them to give up their subsidy. Mr. Subramanya Tantri, a consumer activist, said that there are allegations that while booking a cylinder through IVRS, one option is to give up the subsidy.

"Consumers may press the ‘Yes’ option by mistake. Already there is a lot of anger over this whole initiative as middle-class families are already being harassed in other ways. I wish oil firms would stop this tele-calling tactic. City consumers can raise their voices and protest. But what about the poor consumers from villages and rural areas?”  he asked.

Despite this criticism,  oil firms denied any such phone call system to persuade the consumers to give up their subsidies. "It may be the result of misinformation. Affected people can contact their distributors and get clarity," informed an officer from an oil firm.

Recent incidents

• Two years ago, LPG distributors’ offices witnessed heavy rush following the state government's direction that all LPG consumers must attach their LPG numbers with their electricity RR numbers. But this process has been halted now.
• LPG distributors’ offices and bank branches witnessed chaos when oil firms wanted all the consumers to submit their Aadhar card and bank account details for the implementation of the DBTL scheme. But this scheme is yet to be implemented completely.

Irregularities persist in pahal scheme

Amid the confusion over the PAHAL (DBTL) scheme, LPG consumers in the city allege that even after several reforms including Direct Cash Transfer to the Aadhar-linked bank accounts, irregularities, especially hoarding of the cylinders, was persisting. In many areas of the city, gas refilling and selling in black continue to haunt the genuine consumers, they say.

According to Mr. Ahmed Shakeel, a resident of Yesvantpur, even after the introduction of DBTL, cylinders are being sold in the black market. “Those who do not have genuine documents are selling a cylinder for Rs 1,000. The only condition is we need to give an empty cylinder. Those who have a two-cylinder connection are forced to wait for 3-4 days for the delivery. As no one is affected severely, they do not lodge complaints. But hoarding of cylinders continues,” he said.

He also informed that many families have got double connections in the name of two kitchens and even showing the RR number of their water pumpsets. “I hope these problems will be rectified by the companies before cutting the subsidy amount of the common man,” he urged.

LPG dealers deny all the allegations. Speaking to this newspaper, a dealer informed that presently all the LGP bookings are done online or through IVRS or SMS. “The bill is generated in the name of the consumer with all the details related to the booking. As the delivery date and time is also mentioned in the bill, we cannot give the cylinder to anyone else. The allegations are baseless,” he said.