Question : Irregularities in PMUY

(a) whether the Government has received complaints regarding irregularities and misappropriation of funds in providing free gas connections under Prime Minister Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) and if so, the details thereof along with any monitoring committee constituted for redressal of the said complaints, State/UT-wise including Madhya Pradesh;
(b) whether the Government has received complaints of problems relating to the designated portal for free gas connections under PMUY and if so, the details thereof along with the steps taken/ being taken by the Government to address/rectify the said errors on this portal;
(c) whether the Aadhaar card is mandatory to avail benefits of free gas connection for BPL households under the PMUY and if so, the details thereof;
(d) whether the Government is aware of organised rackets reportedly supplying gas cylinders to fake beneficiaries which were originally pooled in the PMUY and if so, the details thereof along with the corrective steps taken in this regard; and
(e) whether any assessment/study conducted/proposed to be conducted by the Government to ascertain the impact of the PMUY and if so, the details thereof along with the measures being taken to ensure strict adherence to the eligibility criteria?

MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) IN THE MINISTRY OF PETROLEUM & NATURAL GAS (SHRI DHARMENDRA PRADHAN)
(a) LPG connections are released under “Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana”(PMUY) to women members of the BPL households as per SECC List by Public Sector Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) and expenditure upto Rs. 1600/- per connection is first incurred by OMCs and the same is re-imbursed to OMCs by the Government on monthly basis after verifying the same by Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC).
OMCs have reported 37 cases of established irregularities against release of LPG connections under PMUY Scheme. In all established cases of irregularities, action is being taken as per provisions of prevalent Marketing Discipline Guidelines (MDG) and Distributorship Agreement.
(b) A website namely www.pmujjwalayojana.com has been designated for PMUY Scheme, on which consumers can know about the Scheme, download form, know-how to apply for the connection etc. Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas has not received any complaint relating to the designated portal of PMUY.
(c) The Government has issued a notification making provision inter-alia that an individual beneficiary desirous of availing the benefits under the PMUY Scheme is required to furnish proof of possession of Aadhaar number or undergo Aadhaar authentification and, if a beneficiary is in not possession of the Aadhaar number or has not yet enrolled for Aadhaar, he/she shall have to apply for Aadhaar enrolment by 31st May 2017.
(d) OMCs have reported that they have not received any complaints about rackets supplying gas cylinders to fake beneficiaries under PMUY Scheme.
(e) LPG connection under PMUY Scheme is released to an adult woman whose name appears in the SECC list 2011. To ensure that the eligibility criteria are strictly followed, de-duplication is carried out using AHL-TIN, Aadhaar number and bank account of the prospective beneficiary for ascertaining existence of connection, if any, before its actual release.
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