Free LPG cylinders on Holi: UP beneficiaries may get amount into their account or receive e-voucher

Government close to giving final shape to the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for distribution of free LPG cylinders to around 1.65 beneficiaries in the state

LUCKNOW Ujjwala Yojana beneficiaries in Uttar Pradesh may get money directly into their Aadhaar-linked bank account for their domestic LPG cylinder refill or receive an e-voucher, which they can redeem within a specified period in keeping with the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) pre-poll promise for a free domestic LPG cylinder on Holi and Diwali every year.

A worker sits inside a lorry, stacked with LPG cylinders . (PT Phto)

Not all beneficiaries will receive the amount/e-voucher at one go on Holi. “Rather, different beneficiaries will receive the benefit on different dates between March and June, officials said.

They said the government was very close to giving final shape to the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the distribution of free LPG cylinders to around 1.65 beneficiaries, after discussing various payment options.

Chief secretary DS Mishra is believed to have already held meetings with officials of oil companies and the food & civil supplies department to work out the modalities. The final proposal may be submitted before the cabinet for clearance next week.

“The government is working on two-three options for payment to the beneficiaries. One, they may be provided an e-voucher of the value equivalent to the cost of a domestic LPG cylinder with the choice of redeeming the same to refill their cylinder anytime between March and June, but with the condition that the voucher will be used for refill only,” a government official said.

The problem in this mode, he pointed out, was the possibility of many beneficiaries having changed their cell phone numbers without updating the same with oil companies.

The second option under consideration, according to him, was that the money equivalent to the cylinder price was transferred to the beneficiaries’ Aadhaar-linked bank accounts for more surety that the money goes to the right person.

“The government is most likely to adopt this mechanism because almost all Ujjwala beneficiaries have their Aadhaar-lined bank accounts in which they are already receiving subsidies for various other government schemes too,” the official pointed out. “The amount will be transferred to a beneficiary’s account only after he/she gets the cylinder refilled,” he added.