A few days back, a relative tried to book a refill of an LPG cylinder from her cell phone. The system refused her request saying that the number wasn't registered, though I had completed the registration myself. When I went to the dealer, I found that the number had "mysteriously" been changed. The number would in all probability have been deliberately changed to allow someone else to book refills beyond his/her capped entitlement. My relative utilises only a part of her subsidised entitlement. Such accounts must be coming in handy as proxy accounts for consumers with heavy usage of LPG. Thus, the new booking system also stands defeated. It is possible there are some other safeguards such as requirement of signed requests from the customer for registration and changes in the registration of personal data. But it appears they are observed more in breach than in compliance, possibly because there is no effective inspection of the processes followed by the dealers. I think the subsidies by way of dual pricing must be removed and the government must move to a lump sum cash subsidy to the poor.
Kishor Kulkarni Mumbai
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