The Andhra Pradesh state government that is getting ready to launch a free gas cylinder scheme on October 31, as a Diwali gift, has released Rs 895 crore for implementation of this scheme. Rs. 895 crores have been released to the joint account of gas companies and civil supplies department.
The price of gas cylinders will be deposited into the bank accounts of the beneficiaries under the DBT system within 24 hours for urban people and 48 hours for rural people, after their cash payment. Through this scheme, the government will provide 3 free gas cylinders per year. The government has estimated that the implementation of this scheme will cost Rs. 2684 crores.
From 29th of this month, the beneficiaries can book a free cylinder. The government announced that Aadhaar card, gas connection and white ration card are enough for this scheme. Once the cylinder is booked, an SMS will be received from the state government. Beneficiaries first pay cash for the cylinder. Cash will be deposited in the beneficiary’s account within 24 to 48 hours of receiving the cylinder.
Officials make it clear that they will give discounts on cooking gas cylinders by taking white ration card and Aadhaar card as representatives. The government has announced that the subsidy money will be deposited in the bank accounts. Booking is not possible only if the information of white ration cards is available at the cooking gas agencies.
At present cooking gas is booked online and done on the basis of Aadhaar and phone number. Ration card details are required to avail concession. There is no clarity on how to get those details. The state government has made E-KYC mandatory for the scheme of free gas cylinders. E-KYC has over 20 lakh users.
While there are 1.47 crore white ration card holders across the state, officials say that even today, more than 20 lakh people have not done EKYC at gas agencies. Gas cylinders are being supplied to 1.55 crore consumers through 1,100 distribution agencies across the state. Out of which there are 1.47 crore white ration card users. Out of which only 9.65 lakh gas connections are covered under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana scheme. Even though there are poor among those who do not have white ration cards. they are ineligible for the free gas scheme.
