Hyderabad: Confused consumers throng gas agencies to enrol for Rs 500 scheme

Hyderabad : With Centre issuing directions on updating e-KYC, confused LPG consumers make beelines at Gas agencies, assuming this to be implementation of Rs 500 gas cylinder scheme by the State government. Believing Mahalakshmi scheme is applicable only to women, men press with demand of transferring registration in their wives name.

It has become a tough task handling the turnout of customers at Gas agency offices in the City. With rumour of one of the promises under Mahalakshmi, Rs 500 gas cylinder under Congress Guarantee Card was about to get implemented consumers in huge numbers are turning up. With guidelines on updation of e-KYC coming earlier in December along with State election results have resulted in confusion. Added to this the State government’s implementation of one of the promises ‘free travel in RTC buses’ for women has strengthened this belief.

“We are here for updating the e-KYC, as Centre has initiated the measures for ensuring Aadhar based Direct Benefit Transfer schemes reach the real beneficiaries. Had it been a few months back this confusion could have been avoided. We are struggling to make them understand that this is not about implementation of Mahalakshmi scheme. But the irony is that even men along with their wives are asking us to transfer their names for availing the scheme which is yet to get started,” said M K Kumar, Assistant Manager of Swamy Enterprises, Vijayanagar colony.

The Union Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas has directed OMCs (Oil Marketing Companies) to undertake bio-metric Aadhaar authentication of PMUY (PM Ujjwala Yojana) and PAHAL (Pratyaksh Hanstantrit Labh), the Direct Benefit Transfer of LPG (DBTL) beneficiaries. The Ministry has instructed this to be completed in ‘time bound manner’, in a letter dated October 18.

While the Agencies have sped up the process after receiving the direction earlier this month. The HPCL (Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited) has directed the HP Gas distributors to complete the e-KYC for all the existing LPG 'customers on priority’. The rush was such that the servers of the HPCL were down on Thursday.

“As the work turned hectic this happened. Otherwise this can be easily uploaded, as we are making this easy for customers by asking Gas delivery boys through the mobile App,” added Kumar.

Similar was the situation at Bharat Gas agencies in Humayun Nagar where women have gathered in large numbers to ensure they become beneficiaries of the Rs 500 scheme. “Like scores of others I came to know about this. After reaching here I came to know that this was yet to get implemented,” said Aisha Fatima, B-Tech graduate.

While the elderly had to suffer for generation of KYC owing to their skin transformation over the years. Md Abdul Haq, a resident of Red Hills felt that at his prime age he was made to run pillar to post. “I came here for a KYC updation, but finger prints do not match. I am being asked to come once again in January, as they do not have an alternative solution for this,” said the Gulf-returnee.

Meanwhile RTI activists have questioned the Government over implementation of Mahalakshmi scheme as some fraudsters began duping people in the name of scheme.

“Posters circulating in WhatsApp groups to mislead people to apply for various certificates. Could you please confirm if any orders or guidelines have been issued for this scheme?” asked the activist S Q Masood, by tagging Hyderabad Collector and higher ups in the Government, on X platform.