Ujjwala Yojna: Unverified details cost 58% beneficiaries free refills

In the first phase, on Diwali, only 77.18 lakh of the 1.75 crore beneficiaries avail the scheme, while in the second phase, on Holi, 74.81 lakh receive a free refill.

LUCKNOW: Nearly 58% of beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) in Uttar Pradesh failed to avail themselves of the state government’s scheme offering two free LPG cylinder refills during the 2023-24 fiscal year.

For representation only (Sourced)

The scheme, which aimed to provide relief to Ujjwala beneficiaries with refills on Diwali and Holi last year, could not reach many due to issues such as unverified personal details.

Launched by the Yogi Adityanath government in 2023, the “Uttar Pradesh Free Gas Cylinder Scheme” has a budgetary allocation of ₹2,312 crore to provide two free LPG refills to 1.75 crore women beneficiaries registered under the Central government’s Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana.

Under the scheme, which is part of the BJP’s pre-poll promises made to voters in its “Sankalp Patra” (Manifesto) for the 2022 Assembly polls, a beneficiary had to purchase the LPG refill at its actual price on Diwali and Holi. Thereafter, the government subsidy, equal to the refill price, was to be transferred to the beneficiary’s bank account within five days of purchasing the cylinder from an oil company.

The latest data gathered from the department of food and civil supplies, the nodal body for this scheme, reveals that only 1.51 crore of the free LPG refills were provided out of the 3.5 crore refills planned for the year.

“In the first phase on Diwali, only 77.18 lakh of the 1.75 crore beneficiaries could avail themselves of the scheme, while in the second phase starting January 1, 2024 (for Holi), only 74.81 lakh of the 1.75 crore cylinders received a free refill,” said a senior official from the department of food and civil supplies.

“Thus, only a total of 151.97 lakh cylinders have received a free LPG refill so far, which is just over 43% of the targeted number,” he added.

The fact as to why only such a low number of beneficiaries availed themselves of the free scheme is attributed to lack of Aadhar authentication and or incomplete KVC which were a precondition for the beneficiaries to fulfil for the subsidy to go into their bank account liked to their Aadhar.

“The same report shows that by mid-July, oil companies could verify Aadhaar for only 112.47 lakh beneficiaries—55.14 lakh by IOC, 33.74 lakh by BPCL, and 23.58 lakh by HPCL.

“The low number of beneficiaries availing themselves of the free LPG refill scheme is due to various issues with Aadhaar verification, including the non-availability of beneficiaries for biometric verification. In many cases, Aadhaar verification was complete, but the KYC remained incomplete,” said a senior IOC official. “We are now constantly working to verify Aadhaar and KYC as per the government’s directives,” he added.

There is, however, uncertainty regarding the reintroduction of the scheme for 2024-25. It remains unclear whether those who missed out on last year’s benefits will receive them retroactively or if the scheme will include similar provisions in the future.

“As of now, the scheme is closed as it was meant only for 2023. The state government has not made any decision regarding the introduction of the scheme for the current year,” the official said.