Customers can join direct cash transfer scheme for gas till March

Domestic cooking gas customers can join the direct benefit transfer scheme till March 2015 though the system would kick start Jan 1, a senior official of the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) said here Wednesday.

The direct benefit transfer scheme would help the consumer take delivery of the cooking gas at the market rate while the subsidy element would be credited to his/her bank account directly within three days.

"Consumers can get cooking gas cylinders at subsidised rates till March end. The scheme starts Jan 1 and a grace period of three months is given to the consumers to become cash transfer compliant," IOC executive director U.V. Mannur told reporters here.

According to him, a further three month period after March 2015 called the Parking Period would be provided to consumers to get themselves cash transfer compliant.

During this period consumers will have to buy cylinders at the market rate and on joining the scheme the subsidy amount would be credited to the bank account.

And those who join the scheme after July 2015, will get the subsidy only for new bookings, an IOC official said.

He said consumers who do not have the Aadhaar card number can still avail of the subsidy credited directly to their bank account and as and when they acquire the number they should intimate their cooking gas distributor and the bank.

IOC officials clarified that the forms to be filled and submitted are available free of cost and the consumers need not pay anything to the gas dealers.

IOC officials said there are around 1.54 crore households with cooking gas connections in Tamil Nadu.

Mannur said that the subsidy on cooking gas costs the country nearly Rs.40,000 crore.

He said the direct benefit transfer scheme is to plug the leak in the system and only genuine household customers would be able to avail of the subsidy.