Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said state-owned oil companies are carrying out Aadhaar-based eKYC authentication of LPG customers to weed out fake customers.
This is to remove fake customers in whose name LPG is booked but it is used by commercial establishments.
While households buy domestic LPG at Rs 803 per 14.2 kg cylinder (about Rs 56.5 per kg), it is mandatory for commercial establishments like hotels and restaurants to buy a 19 kg commercial cylinder, which costs Rs 1,646 (about Rs 86.3 per kg). Comes in. ,
“Oil marketing companies are doing eKYC Aadhaar authentication for LPG customers to weed out fake customers in whose name commercial cylinders are often booked by some gas distributors,” Puri said in a post on X. His post came in response to the “unprecedented hardship” being faced by the common man due to the decision by VD Satheesan, leader of opposition in the Kerala Assembly.
“It is learned that the Central Government has made it mandatory to collect deposits for gas connections to ensure that LPG cylinders are with legitimate customers. Although it is mandatory to collect deposits to identify legitimate customers, the onus is on the respective gas agencies “It has been decided to complete the deposit process. Common LPG holders will be inconvenienced,” he said in a letter to Puri, a copy of which he posted on Twitter.
In response, Puri said that the LPG delivery personnel verifies the credentials while delivering the refill to the customer.
“The delivery personnel captures the customer’s Aadhaar credentials through an app using their mobile phone. The customer receives an OTP which is used to complete the process. The customer can also contact the distributor showroom at his convenience. can do.” Alternatively, customers can also install the oil company’s app and complete the eKYC themselves.
“There is no time limit for this activity by the oil marketing companies or the central government. It has also been clarified by the OMCs that there is no ‘mobilisation’ of customers in the showrooms of LPG distributors,” he said.
Apart from this, oil companies are also issuing clarifications on this matter to reassure customers and ensure that no genuine consumer faces any difficulty or inconvenience, he said.
According to data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell of the Oil Ministry, there are 32.64 crore active domestic LPG users in India.
