S.O. 1358(E).—Whereas, the use of Aadhaar as identity document for delivery of services or benefits or subsidies simplifies the Government delivery processes, brings in transparency and efficiency, and enables beneficiaries to get their entitlements directly in a convenient and seamless manner and Aadhaar obviates the need for producing multiple documents to prove one’s identity;
And whereas, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (hereinafter referred to as the Ministry) in the Government of India allocates subsidised kerosene to the States and Union territories under the “Public Distribution System (PDS) Kerosene and Domestic LPG Subsidy Scheme, 2002” with an objective to provide affordable cooking fuel for domestic use;
And whereas, the Ministry has also introduced Direct Benefit Transfer in the PDS Kerosene Scheme (hereinafter referred to as the Scheme) through which subsidy is transferred directly to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries, who purchase PDS Kerosene at non-subsidised rate;
And whereas, under the Scheme, members of the household (hereinafter referred to as the beneficiaries) are given either subsidised kerosene or kerosene subsidy in cash (hereinafter referred to as benefits) through their bank accounts, which involves expenditure incurred from the Consolidated Fund of India;
Now, therefore, in pursuance of the provisions of Section 7 of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016 (18 of 2016) (hereinafter referred to as the said Act), the Central Government hereby notifies the following, namely:–
1. (1) Any individual desirous of availing the benefits under the Scheme is hereby required to furnish proof of possession of Aadhaar or undergo Aadhaar authentication.
(2) An individual desirous of availing the benefits under the Scheme, who does not possess the Aadhaar number or, has not yet enrolled for Aadhaar, but desirous of availing the benefits under the Scheme is hereby required to make application for Aadhaar enrolment by 30th September, 2017, provided he or she is entitled to obtain Aadhaar as per Section 3 of the said Act and such individuals may visit any Aadhaar enrolment centre (list available at Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) www.uidai.gov.in) to get enrolled for Aadhaar.
(3) As per Regulation 12 of the Aadhaar (Enrolment and Update) Regulations, 2016, the concerned Department responsible for implementation of the Scheme in the State Government or Union territory Administration which requires an individual to furnish Aadhaar is required to offer Aadhaar enrolment facilities for the beneficiaries who are not yet enrolled for Aadhaar and in case there is no Aadhaar enrolment centre located in the vicinity such as in the Block or Taluka or Tehsil, the concerned Department responsible for implementation of the Scheme in the State Government or Union territory Administration is required to provide Aadhaar enrolment facilities at convenient locations in coordination with the existing Registrars of UIDAI or by becoming UIDAI Registrar:
Provided that till the time Aadhaar is assigned to the individual, benefits under the Scheme shall be given to such individuals, subject to the production of the following documents, namely:—
(a)(i) if he or she has enrolled, his or her Aadhaar Enrolment ID slip; or
(ii) a copy of his or her request made for Aadhaar enrolment, as specified in sub- paragraph (b) of paragraph 2; and
(b) any one of the following documents:-
(i) Bank passbook with photograph; or (ii) Voter identity card; or (iii) Ration Card; or (iv) Permanent Account Number (PAN) Card; or (v) Passport; or (vi) MGNREGS Card; or (vii) Kisan Photo passbook; or (viii) Address card having Name and Photo issued by Department of Posts; or (ix) Certificate of identity having photo of such person issued by a Gazetted Officer on an official letter head; or (x) Any other documents as specified by the State Government or Union territory Administration:
Provided further that the above documents shall be checked by an officer specifically designated by the State Government or Union territory Administration for that purpose.
2. In order to provide convenient and hassle free benefits to the beneficiaries under the Scheme, the concerned Department responsible for implementation of the Scheme in the State Government or Union Territory Administration shall make all the required arrangements including the following, namely:-
(a) Wide publicity through media, notice boards and individual notices through Fair Price Shops, etc. shall be given to the beneficiaries to make them aware of the requirement of Aadhaar to receive benefits under the Scheme and they may be advised to get themselves enrolled at the nearest enrolment centre available in their areas by 30th September, 2017, in case they are not yet enrolled. The list of locally available enrolment centres (list available at www.uidai.gov.in) shall be made available to them.
(b) In case, the beneficiaries are not able to enroll due to non-availability of enrollment centres in the nearby vicinity such as in the Block or Taluka or Tehsil, the concerned Department responsible for implementation of the Scheme under the State Government or Union territory Administration is required to create Aadhaar enrolment facilities at convenient locations, and the beneficiaries may be requested to register their requests for Aadhaar enrolment by giving their names, addresses, mobile numbers and other details as specified in the first proviso to sub-paragraph (3) of paragraph 1, with the concerned official of the State Government or Union territory Administration or through the web portal provided for the purpose.
3. The State Government or Union Territory Administration shall, within a period of thirty days from the receipt of proof of possession of Aadhaar number furnished by individual beneficiaries of the eligible household, link the Aadhaar number with the ration card issued to such household availing the benefits or with the Bank Account for Cash Transfer benefit.
4. Notwithstanding anything in above paragraphs, any member of eligible household listed in the ration card shall be entitled to receive the entire quantity of entitled benefits under the Scheme of State Governments or Union territory Administrations, if any one member of the household in the ration card fulfils the identification conditions mentioned in above clauses, in case Aadhaar number is not yet assigned to all such members of the household.
5. This notification shall come into effect from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette in all the States except the States of Assam, Meghalaya and the State of Jammu and Kashmir.
[F. No. P-23014/1/2017-LPG]
Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas
[Notification dated 27th April , 2017]
