Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India, in its audit report, noted diversion of gas cylinders in the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojna (PMUY). Around 18% of the verified KYC-verified beneficiaries diverted their benefits to “unintended persons“. Sporadic cases of reported purchase of upto 12 cylinders a day by an individual beneficiary have also raised concerns on the potential to abuse the PMUY scheme, under which the beneficiary receives the LPG cylinder at around Rs. 500 viz-a-viz Rs. 800-900 for commons.
Crux of the Matter
The audit report of CAG showed that around 2.61 lakh below poverty line (BPL) consumers purchased two, and 4,000 of them bought five subsidized refills a day. While 7,000 of them bought four, and 1,300 of them bought twelve new subsidized cylinders in a day.
IOCL and HPCL had issued 2-20 refills in a day to beneficiaries having only one connection, as per the report.
In the software used by state-sponsored oil marketing companies, there were apparent shortcomings regarding the identification of the original beneficiary and in the de-duplication process.
Delay, ranging from 10 days to as much as 664 days, in delivering and installation of the subsidized LPG was also a critical issue raised in the CAG audit report.
The report also showed concerns regarding the sustained usage of LPG as refills per beneficiary in the year 2018 was only 3.21. Owing to the attitude of the beneficiaries, the potential of the PMUY seems to have been decreased multifold.
Curiopedia
Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) was launched by Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi on 1 May 2016 to distribute 50 million LPG connections to women of BPL families. A budgetary allocation of ₹800 billion was made for the scheme. In the first year of its launch, the connections distributed were 22 million against the target of 15 million. However, while access to LPG gas stoves and cylinders has increased in the scheme, the use of LPG cylinders remains low. More Info
Curated Coverage
Comments