Oil firms scan LPG sops data

Hyderabad: Oil marketing companies have started the exercise of filtering data of domestic LPG consumers. The exercise assumes significance in the backdrop of the Centre’s recent announcement that it would eliminate LPG subsidy by March 2018 while ensuring that only the poor get the sop. Filtering of data has become easier with the Aadhaar card of consumers being linked with LPG and bank accounts, PAN details and welfare schemes.

Identifying LPG consumers from poorer sections is being done through cross-verification of Aadhaar-linked data with other initiatives. OMC officials are maintaining utmost secrecy while filtering data. LPG dealers said the exercise was being done “gas agency-wise” in all districts to segregate poor consumers from others. A gas dealer on condition of anonymity said, “Officials told us that data filteration was being done to assess how many households from Below Poverty Line were availing subsidised cylinders and what are the income levels of other consumers. This data will be referred to the Centre, which will take a call on how to go ahead on elimination of subsidy after March 2018.”

The Centre on July 31 had informed Parliament that HPCL, BPCL and IOC were ordered to raise LPG subsidised cylinder prices by Rs 4 per month to eliminate all subsidies by March 2018. Last year, the Centre had asked OMCs to raise the rates of subsidised cylinders by Rs 2 per cylinder per month. Since July 1, 2016, OMCs have had hiked LPG rates on 10 occasions. Every household is entitled to 12 subsidised cylinders and any excess requirement has to be purchased at market price.