Ration card holders to get kerosene subsidy directly

MUMBAI: To check the black marketing of cheap kerosene sold through the Public Distribution System, Government has decided to deposit subsidy on the fuel directly in the bank accounts of intended beneficiaries.

Maharashtra Food and Civil Supplies Minister Anil Deshmukh said here that other measures to stop black marketing had been ineffective.

"We feel directly depositing the subsidy amount in bank account will prove effective," he said.

Under the new scheme, ration card holders would get kerosene at market rates from PDS shops.

"The PDS office will be informed about the purchase by the dealer. After the verification, reimbursement of the subsidy amount will be done directly in the bank account of the beneficiary (ration card-holder)," Deshmukh said.

The scheme was first to be implemented, on a pilot basis, in Nashik district, but following a presentation to the Union Food and Civil Supplies Ministry, it was decided to implement it all over the country, he said.

In the first phase, Mumbai-Thane, Amravati, Nashik, Wardha, Pune, and Nandurbar districts of the state will be covered.

The district collectors would see to it that joint accounts of the beneficiaries (husband and wife) are opened in nationalized banks.

"If the female head of family already has an account in a nationalized bank, she need not have a new one. But the male head of the family, even if he has an existing account, will have to get a new joint account with the wife. If he is a widower, the joint account will have to be with the senior female family member," the Minister said.

The collectors have been asked to complete the process of opening of accounts before September 30.