Thu. Mar 28th, 2024
Ujjawala Scheme

A Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report on Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) revealed a mismatch in the data of Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC-2011) and 1.25 million (15 lakhs) beneficiaries on Wednesday. The Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC-2011) data were used to decide the beneficiary of the scheme.

The CAG report on the Ujjwala Yojana was tabled in Parliament. The report said that a check in the field audit revealed that 784 (18 per cent of 4,348 KYCs verified) intended beneficiaries were used by liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) distributors to extend benefits to “unintended persons”. The auditor also hinted at the possible diversion of cylinders.

The report also hinted at the diversion of domestic cylinders for commercial use. It said that around 198,000 PMUY below-poverty-line beneficiaries consumed an average annual consumption of more than 12 cylinders. The report also pointed out the overuse of refills in a month. The two major companies – IndianOil and Hindustan Petroleum – issued two to twenty refills in a single day to a PMUY beneficiary having single bottle connection. Around 14 lakhs beneficiaries consumed three to 41 refills in a month.

Apart from the excessive and inappropriate use of refills, the report also highlighted the violation of safety norms during the test check of 18,558 KYC records as pre-installation inspection report was not available in 2,531 cases (13.64 per cent).

At least 859,000 connections were released to minor as per the data of SECC-2011, ignoring the guidelines of PMUY and LPG Control Order, 2000. IndianOil Corporation software allowed the issue of 80,000 connections to beneficiaries aged below 18 years.

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