PATNA Oil marketing companies (OMCs) have launched a verification drive across the country, including Bihar, intensifying enforcement of long-standing rules to weed out ineligible domestic LPG consumers and streamline beneficiary records amid mounting LPG supply pressure linked to the West Asia conflict, officials said on Friday.
The drive focuses on consumers with annual taxable income above ₹10 lakh and LPG connections linked to deceased persons. OMCs which had been relatively lenient in enforcing these provisions for several years have now begun strict implementation. OMCs said they periodically match consumer details with the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) database to identify violations and initiate relevant action.
Under the renewed verification exercise, OMCs are marking consumers identified as belonging to high-income group (HIG) category — those with annual gross taxable income exceeding ₹10 lakh — ineligible for LPG subsidy benefits. The provision was introduced in January 2016 under Centre’s “GiveItUp” campaign which encouraged affluent households to surrender LPG subsidies to benefit economically weaker consumers.
Consumers flagged during verification received SMS alerts on May 9, informing them that their subsidy may be discontinued if they fail to raise objections within a week through a helpline or OMC grievance portal. The message stated that income tax records indicated either the consumer or a family member had an income above the prescribed threshold of ₹10 lakh annually, making them ineligible for subsidy.
The intensified scrutiny comes as domestic LPG supplies are under pressure. In Patna, the waiting period for LPG cylinder delivery has increased from 3-4 days in April to nearly a week, even as consumers are subject to the mandatory 25-day gap between two refill bookings in urban areas. In rural areas, the mandatory waiting period for booking an LPG refill is 45 days from the date of delivery of the last cylinder.
A 14.2kg domestic LPG cylinder costs ₹1,011 in Patna after the last price revision on March 7. Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) consumers – adult women from low-income or below poverty line (BPL) households who do not have a LPG connection in their family – currently get a subsidy of ₹300 per cylinder while non-PMUY consumers having annual gross taxable income below ₹10 lakh get a subsidy of ₹79.26 per cylinder.
Simultaneously, OMCs have initiated action against LPG connections linked to deceased consumers. Officials said they are cross-verifying consumer records with UIDAI and other databases to identify such cases and prevent misuse. Legal heirs or eligible family members have been asked to approach distributors within 30 days to transfer connection in their names; otherwise, it may be permanently terminated.
According to OMC officials, the drive aims to maintain accurate consumer records, prevent misuse of subsidised LPG connections, ensure lawful transfer of connections to eligible family members and improve transparency and accountability in the LPG distribution system. Consumers identified as deceased also received alerts on May 9, directing them to contact distributors or use OMC portal for connection regularisation.
Meanwhile, fuel prices have risen nationwide, with the retail selling price of petrol being ₹108.58 and diesel ₹94.63, up ₹3.35 and ₹3.14 per litre, respectively, in Patna on Friday. Bihar deputy chief minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary on Friday defended the hike in fuel prices, citing rising petroleum prices and inflation across the globe. Speaking to ANI, Chaudhary claimed that the ongoing energy crisis will come back to “normal” once the conflict ends.
