Congress in Kerala voices concerns over Central directive of LPG Mustering

Thiruvananthapuram: The Congress in Kerala raised concerns on Monday regarding the Central government's directive to LPG consumers to complete a 'mustering process' at gas agencies. Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly, V D Satheesan, addressed a letter to Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, expressing that this requirement has caused significant difficulties, especially for senior citizens and women. 

He emphasised that the current system has resulted in long queues and inconvenience at gas agencies for consumers. Satheesan suggested establishing a special system at the ward level and Akshaya Centres to facilitate a smoother process for consumers.

"It has been learned that the Central government has mandated mustering for gas connections in order to ensure that LPG cylinders are held by legitimate customers. Though mustering is imperative to identify legitimate customers, the decision to complete the mustering process at respective gas agencies has caused inconvenience to common LPG holders," the letter said.

"As you are aware, the majority of the LPG holders are women, and this stipulation has forced them to stand in long lines in front of gas agencies for hours to get the mustering completed. This has severely impacted their day-to-day lives. The elderly population and the bedridden are also in dire straits due to this decision," he said.

Alternative methods that can be considered are the establishment of specific stations for ward-level mustering and mustering through Akshaya centres, the Congress leader said. 

The government has recently decided to make biometric verification mandatory for maintaining cooking gas connections. Earlier, only beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana were required to complete biometric verifications. However, a circular issued by cooking gas companies recently mandated biometric verification for all those with gas connections. While the deadline for completion hasn't been set, the central government is expected to announce it soon.

The Union Ministry of Petroleum is gearing up to tighten biometric verification to find the real beneficiaries of LPG cylinders. This decision stems from reports indicating that many individuals have transferred connections and continued receiving cylinders even after the original holders' death. Customers who fail to undergo verification may encounter obstacles when booking cooking gas. Indian Oil, Hindustan Petroleum, and Bharat Petroleum have collectively begun implementing these measures.

(Inputs from PTI)