Question : Diversion of LPG Cylinders

(a) whether the Government has taken note of misuse of domestic LPG cylinders provided to poor families under Pradhan Mantri Ujjawala Yojana (PMUY) Scheme and its diversion towards commercial use, as reported recently, if so, the details thereof;
(b) the preventive measures taken by the Government since then in this regard;
(c) whether it is a fact that the distributors have issued 2 to 20 refills in a day to a single beneficiaries of PMUY having a single cylinder connection;
(d) whether it is also true that atleast 2.98 lakh customers of PMUY have applied for more than one refill a day 3.43 lakh instances; and
(e) whether the Government has developed any strong mechanism to restrict multiple refills bookings to Ujjawala Scheme beneficiaries and the steps being taken to issue LPG through Aadhaar number?

MINISTER OF PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS (SHRI DHARMENDRA PRADHAN)
(a) Public Sector Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) have reported that there is a possibility of diversion of domestic LPG cylinders including PMUY cylinders by unscrupulous elements due to the tax differential between LPG for domestic use and commercial LPG. Complaints of diversion are investigated by the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) and if the complaint is established, action is taken as per provisions of Marketing Discipline Guidelines (MDG)/Distributorship Agreement.
(b) to (e) OMCs have reported that a control mechanism has been put in place to prevent more than one cylinder booking in a single day. Further, while receiving application for new connection, Proof of Identity and proof of address are collected to ascertain the identity of customers. In case of PMUY consumers, de-duplication is carried out based on Aadhaar, Bank accounts, Name & Address, Abridged Household List Temporary Identification Number (AHL TIN) and Ration card.
----------