RTI Happenings: Now an LPG portal to curb black marketing

[karira]

As reported by Sujay Mehdudia in thehindu.com on 22 June 2012:
The Hindu : Business / Industry : Now an LPG portal to curb black marketing


Now an LPG portal to curb black marketing

In a bid to bring in transparency in the booking, consumption and delivery of LPG cylinders, and prevent diversion to the black market, the government, on Friday, launched a website aimed at empowering nearly 14 crore consumers in the country.

The “LPG transparency portal” carries details of booking and delivery date, usage patterns, subsidies, particulars of distributors, and information affecting consumers. It can be accessed through the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry’s website, Welcome to Ministry of Petroleum&Natural Gas. The portal will also be hosted on the sites of Indian Oil Corporation, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation and Bharat Petroleum Corporation.

Launching the portal, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister, S. Jaipal Reddy, told journalists here that consumers could, with a single click, get information on their individual usage patterns, booking status, subsidy availed, and refill history, or request surrender of their connection. The information on the portal could be sorted, using the consumers’ numbers and names, and the distributors’ names. This could help in a social audit of all domestic LPG supplies.

Mr. Reddy said the new system would not only benefit consumers, but also be a unique resource for civil society to access LPG distribution information, report discrepancies, and register feedback on anomalies in supply. The portal gave consumers an opportunity to rate the services of their LPG distributors.

With the oil marketing companies supplying more than 32 lakh cylinders a day, and expected to incur a subsidy burden of Rs. 43,000 crore this year, it was all the more important to curb diversion of domestic LPG for commercial purposes, he said.

[karira]

Sponsorer

This is an excellent and laudable effort by the Oil Marketing Companies !

The links to the transparency portals are:

ebharatgas - Transparency Portal

Indane.co.in - Transparency Portal

Transparency Portal :: Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited

Lots of information on those portals and very transparent....

[lissing perme]

Hope for the best!!!

[karira]

As reported by PTI in deccanchronicle.com on 23 June 2012:
Ministers, industrialists among top LPG consumers in Delhi | Deccan Chronicle

Ministers, industrialists among top LPG consumers in Delhi


Too much subsidised cooking gas (LPG) is being consumed by country's VVIPs, according to the transparency portal launched on Friday by state-owned oil firms.

Vice President Hamid Ansari's official residence in New Delhi consumed 171 subsidised LPG cylinders in the year to May 31, while Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur used up 161 cylinders.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna used 83 refills of 14.2-kg cylinder at his Mathura Line residence in the national capital, BJP leader Rajnath Singh consumed 80 cylinders and former Union minister M.S. Gill 79.

The portal showed that industrialist Naveen Jindal's 6, Prithvi Raj Road residence in the national capital received 369 refills, or more than one cylinder a day, through two LPG connections - one in name of his father late O.P. Jindal and another in name of one Radha Devi Rawat.

Oil Minister S. Jaipal Reddy, who launched the portal so that people can track their bookings as well as see if someone was jumping the queue to get a replacement before him, got 26 refills or more than two per month.

As per norms, general public is not allowed to book a refill within 21 days of delivery of a cylinder.

"This (large number of refills) shows I am a popular leader," Reddy said in lighter vain. "I get so many visitors everyday... sometimes 200 to 300. Naturally, consumption will be high".

While the same argument may be true for most of the public figures, there might also be instances of dealers fraudulently showing bookings in certain names and actually diverting the subsidised bottles to commercial establishments.

Commercial users are supposed to buy the fuel at market rate which is Rs 396 higher than the price of the subsidised unit.

Besides providing a history of refills ordered and delivered to consumers in the country, the transparency LPG portal lists out high consumption consumers. A majority of the top 100 consumers of LPG in the national capital are politicians.

The Oil Ministry in a statement said reports suggesting misuse of subsidy, based on number of LPG cylinders supplied as per consumption data from LPG Transparency Portal were factually incorrect.

"As per the current rules and regulations there is no limit on the number of cylinders consumed by any individual," it said.

To rationalise consumption of subsidised LPG cylinders, the ministry has proposed to limit their use by supplying a fixed quota per household as well as making rich ineligible for receiving subsidised cylinders.

"While this proposal is under consideration, the launch of LPG Transparency Portal is another initiative that intends to bring about transparency in the entire LPG supply chain by providing access to LPG supply data to all the LPG consumers and civil society," the statement said.

"It is expected that proactive use of this portal will bring about efficiency in LPG supplies, thereby enabling the ministry to improve the supply of subsidised LPG to its citizens," it added.

BJP MP Maneka Gandhi got 63 refills in the year, the same number as Suresh Kalmadi of Congress. SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav consumed 58 refills at this residence in the national capital.

BSP chief Mayawati used 45 bottles, the same as Ram Vilas Paswan. JD-U's Sharad Yadav received 49 cylinders, Syed Sahanawaz Hussain (BJP) 56, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot 45, Lalu Prasad Yadav (RJD) 43 and former telecom minister A. Raja used up 42 cylinders.

[karira]

As reported by Amar Tejaswi in deccanchronicle.com on 24 June 2012:
Paritala Ravi

Paritala Ravi’s LPG still active

An LPG connection, registered in the name of late politician Paritala Ravi, is still actively being used without being transferred to a nominee. Cylinders are still being delivered though everyone knows he is dead. At the same time, VIPs in the city have been using very few LPG cylinders compared to their counterparts elsewhere in the country.

The petroleum ministry has started a transparency portal that lists all the LPG distributors in all cities along with their customers and usage data. According to data available on the portal, Paritala Ravi’s residence has received nine LPG cylinders in the last 11 months. Yet, VIPs in other states were reportedly using a greater number of cylinders than politicians and government officials in AP. Data shows several high profile personalities in the city subscribing to a meagre number of cylinders in the course of the past year.

Telugu Desam president N. Chandrababu Naidu bought 12 cylinders in the last 11 months for his Road No. 67, Jubilee Hills residence. His wife, N. Bhuvaneswari, had only one cylinder delivered to their Road No. 65, Jubilee Hills residence which now stands blocked. Union petroleum minister S. Jaipal Reddy bought 10 cylinders in the last 11 months of which five were received in the last three months. Former Chief Minister K. Rosaiah had eight delivered to his residence.

Most government officials subscribed to a maximum of 24 LPG cylinders per year which is quite a small number compared to usage by officials in other states. Twitter was also abuzz with talk of LPG usage by politicians with chatter about MP Naveen Jindal using up 369 LPG cylinders and BSP supremo and Rajya Sabha member Mayawati buying 91 in a year.