Odisha asks Petroleum Ministry to extend DBT deadline

BHUBANESWAR: With a large number of people yet to get Aadhar card, Odisha government today urged the Ministry of Petroleum to extend the deadline for implementation of the direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme for transfer of subsidy on LPG to the bank account of the consumers.

In a letter to Union Petroleum Secretary, state Chief Secretary JK Mohapatra requested the extension of deadline from January 31 to April 30 for seven districts in the first phase.

"The Chief Secretary has also requested the ministry to extend the deadline for three districts up to June 30 in the second phase," Food and Supplies Secretary M S Padhee said.

Eight districts where Aadhar number has been made mandatory by the LPG distributors are Cuttack, Puri, Balangir, Khurdha, Bhadrak, Balasore, Sonepur and Sundargarh.

Meanwhile, in a setback to the enrolment process for Aadhar in Odisha, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has rejected enrolled data of about 30 lakh people from the state on different grounds.