State-run oil marketing companies (OMCs) have started yet another drive toreduce their subsidy burden by messaging cooking gas consumers about their annual income, with the aim of discontinuing their subsidies.
Liquefiedpetroleum gas (LPG) consumers who are outside the income tax bracket and have their Aadhaar numbers linked to their bank accounts get a subsidy of ₹24.50 each time a cylinder is delivered to their home.
The message sent to consumers says: “Dear LPG Consumer, as per available income tax records, your (or a linked family member’s) gross taxable income exceeds the prescribed limit of ₹10 lakh. If you wish to dispute this, please contact the toll-free number 1800-2333-555 or register your grievance on the portal of your respective oil marketing company within seven days of receipt of this message. If no response is received within the stipulated period, the LPG subsidy may be discontinued thereafter.”
Aresident of Velachery said he did not know what the message was about and had asked his gas agency to explain it. “I was irritated when I first read it. I was told that the subsidy amount was ₹24.50, with which I cannot travel for even a kilometre by autorickshaw or AC bus in the city. For this amount, the OMCs are looking into my personal income tax records. The subsidy used to be ₹400 long ago,” he added.
Consumer activist T. Sadagopan said oil companies using I-T records of individuals amounted to an invasion of their privacy.
‘Paltry amount’
“It is better that they stop giving this paltry amount assubsidy. When the Congress was in power, it gave cylinders at a subsidised rate to safeguard consumers. But the BJP government changed the system by transferring the subsidy amount directly to the accounts of consumers. During the lockdown, the amount was reduced to ₹24.50 and was not increased thereafter. Data pertaining to the number of persons who have given up LPG subsidy as well as those who still get subsidy are not available,” Mr. Sadagopan said.
An LPG distributor said the messages were unnecessarily creating confusion among consumers. “This began after people submitted their KYC documents during the recent drive,” he said.
An oil industry source said the messages were being sent following a directive from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.