Govt to blow out fake Deepam beneficiaries

V R C Phaniharan / TNN / Nov 13, 2005, 01:30 IST

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The scheme was introduced to save women folk from drudgery of using firewood for cooking.

Govt to blow out fake Deepam beneficiaries

HYDERABAD: After dropping the move to link LPG refills to ration cards, the state government is now focusing on weeding out bogus beneficiaries of Deepam scheme.
According to sources in civil supplies department, more than 4.5 lakh gas connections were provided under the scheme that started in June, 1999. The connections were meant for the the Below Poverty Line (BPL) families holding white ration cards.
Officials said in rural and semi-urban areas, the connections were being diverted to non-beneficiaries. "The scheme is being misused by commercial establishments and hoteliers. Non-poorer sections too were misusing the scheme," an official said.
The scheme was introduced to save women folk from drudgery of using firewood for cooking. It was launched with an aim to distribute 10 lakh cooking Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) connections under phase I.

As per official estimates, the state government waived the LPG connections fee payable by white card holder and deposited nearly Rs 212 crore towards security deposit to IOC, HPC and BPC oil companies.
The three companies had initially started supplying the LPG connections through 26 outlets in 12 districts in the state. However, several beneficiaries having Deepam connections in rural and semi-urban areas, stay at least 10 kms away from the dealership points.

So, most of the connections either were not utilised or were sold to others, the officials say. Citing a sample study carried out post-Deepam implementation, the department officials said of the total beneficiaries around 65 per cent are still using firewood for cooking and other purposes.
Beneficiaries feel that the price of a refill cylinder is high. "Some complained that transportation of the cylinder is causing additional burden on them," one official said.
Streamlining the Deepam scheme is expected to help in filling the gap in domestic gas supplies. However, direct enumeration of Deepam connections might invite the wrath of women groups.
The state government had asked the civil supplies department to take up this job when the new cards would be issued. As part of this, the authorities would identify white card holders who are using the scheme, those who are not using it and also those who have given away their connections to others.
Once this is figured out, the bogus white cards would be weeded out, the officials said.

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