Newz Desk, Durgapur: The fear surrounding cooking gas subsidies is about to come true! The central government had earlier announced that every LPG consumer must verify their Aadhaar through a biometric process. Until now, this was not mandatory. But now the Centre is planning to make Aadhaar verification compulsory—without it, subsidies will not be provided. For the time being, this rule will apply only to Ujjwala Yojana beneficiaries, but it is expected to be extended to all LPG consumers later.
Extra Trouble for 1 Crore Ujjwala Beneficiaries in the State
According to sources, the Ministry of Petroleum is set to decide that to continue receiving LPG subsidies uninterrupted, customers must complete biometric Aadhaar verification once every financial year (between April 1 and March 31). In West Bengal alone, there are around 1.23 crore LPG consumers under the Ujjwala Yojana — and they are likely to face major difficulties. The same problem will affect crores of Ujjwala beneficiaries across the country.
At present, Ujjwala consumers receive a subsidy of ₹300 per LPG cylinder. Officials say this new rule is being introduced to ensure that subsidies reach genuine beneficiaries and to prevent fraud. For the current financial year, the Centre has announced a subsidy of ₹300 per cylinder for up to nine 14.2 kg cylinders per Ujjwala customer. Under the new rule, Aadhaar biometric verification will be mandatory to receive the subsidy on the 8th and 9th cylinders.
For those who use 5 kg cylinders, the rule will apply from the 21st refill onward. Even those who have already completed Aadhaar verification through biometric methods will be required to repeat the process every financial year.
Will gas delivery stop if verification isn’t completed? According to informed sources, cylinder delivery will not be stopped — customers will still be able to book and receive refills. However, after purchasing the 8th cylinder, the subsidy amount will not be credited to their accounts unless Aadhaar verification has been done. If the verification is not completed by March 31 of a given financial year, the pending subsidy for that year will also be forfeited.
It is worth noting that the old methods of biometric Aadhaar verification will continue. Consumers can complete verification either by visiting their LPG distributor or through the delivery agent at the time of delivery. It can also be done via the oil companies’ official mobile apps using “face authentication.”
Meanwhile, the Petroleum Ministry has recommended that special verification drives be conducted in November and December to complete Aadhaar authentication for all consumers, including Ujjwala beneficiaries. Oil companies are expected to actively participate in this initiative, and distributors are likely to come under pressure soon to ensure compliance.
