Audit Report of the Ujjwala scheme

My reading on fuels brought me to LPG, and to the present Government’s Ujjwala scheme which distributed crores of free LPG connections to the poor, starting from 2016. 

The end 2019 Government audit report of the scheme says that the targets of distribution were achieved. It reviews in detail the 5 crore target of the original Ujjwala scheme (called PMUY).

In order to rule out existing LPG connection in beneficiaries’ household, de-duplication was to be carried out on Aadhaar of all family members. Audit noticed that out of 3.78 crore LPG connections given under PMUY, 42 % were issued only on the basis of beneficiary Aadhaar which remained a deterrent in de-duplication.

PMUY envisaged release of LPG connection in the name of woman. However, 50% of the connections were released in the names of males. 

Test check in field audit revealed that 18 per cent of beneficiaries were those given benefits by LPG distributors to un-intended persons.

Encouraging the sustained usage of LPG remained a big challenge as only 3-4 refills each were availed of by beneficiary families per year. 

Many organizations had highlighted the importance of small 5 Kg cylinders to make PMUY successful considering high refill cost as a barrier to LPG usage. However, inadequacy of efforts was noticed in this direction as only 0.24 per cent of 3.78 crore beneficiary connections were provided 5 Kg cylinder connections.

24% of the beneficiaries had not even taken 3 refills over a year. This had hindered recovery of outstanding loan of ₹1235 crores.

The government audit report concluded that considering the audit findings on the basis of limited test check of sample cases, the entire LPG databases as well as physical records need to be scrutinized to identify and restrict release of connections to ineligible/male/minor beneficiaries/multiple connections.

The scheme had been virtually withdrawn in September 2019, although no formal declaration was made. Only three States — Haryana, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh — and five Union Territories, were declared kerosene-free at that time.