Chennai: In a blatant violation of Consumer Protection Act and Consumer Rights, oil companies, including Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, have suspended subsidies for hundreds of LPG customers in Chennai for not seeding their Aadhaar number.
According to confidential sources, PSUs have verbally instructed all private gas agencies not to entertain bookings of people seeking subsidised LPG cylinder without Aadhaar seeding.
Irked over the denial of subsidy, an RTI activist R Natarajan in Chennai has now lodged a series of complaints and RTI petitions with BPCL asking them to show the official government order under which the subsidy was withheld for him and other customers.
Responding to the RTI petition, dated September 6, BPCL territory manager (LPG), Chennai, R Sivasankaran said revised directions have been passed, under which from July 1 subsidy will only be transferred to eligible customers having Aadhaar seeding in LPG.
Subsidy for customers, who have not registered their Aadhaar, will be kept on hold till September 30, after which the parked subsidy will lapse and the customer would not be eligible for subsidy of the refills consumed after October 1.
In case of those who have submitted their Aadhaar before September, the subsidy if any will be triggered to the beneficiaries' bank account, the public information officer said.
“The move by oil companies has come as a rude shock to public since the issue is pending before the Supreme Court and there is no official government order till date restraining PSUs to withdraw the gas cylinder subsidy but they are implementing directives,” rued Natarajan.
“Now even the state run ration shops are insisting on Aadhaar number to get subsidised rations. When BJP was the opposition party it protested against Aadhaar, but now the Centre is adding to the public agony and we consumers wait in queue to submit our Aadhaar number to avail subsidies,” said civic activist Aarani Sreenivasan.
