On Tuesday, 9th July, Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, responded to a concern about the alleged discomfort caused by long waits at petrol stations for e-KYC verification, saying customers can use their mobile phones instead. The central government has not established a timetable for e-KYC authentication, he stated.
“There is no deadline for this activity either by Oil Marketing Companies or the Central Government. It is also clarified by OMCs that there are no “Mustering” of customers at Showrooms of LPG distributorship,” Puri said in a post on X.
This is after the Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Legislative Assembly, VD Satheesan wrote a letter to Puri requesting necessary steps to alleviate the inconvenience caused by the LPG mustering.
Oil Marketing Companies are undertaking eKYC aadhar authentication for LPG customers to remove bogus customers against whose name commercial cylinders are often booked by certain gas distributors. This process is in place for more than 8 months now.
— Hardeep Singh Puri (@HardeepSPuri) July 9, 2024
In this process, the LPG… https://t.co/D8ApxHkjP5
Satheesan stated that the mustering necessary at the separate gas agencies has caused trouble for ordinary LPG holders. The Union Minister outlined the rationale for deploying e-KYC Aadhar authentication, which he said was intended to eliminate fake clients who gave false information in order to obtain commercial LPG for certain gas distributors.
“Oil Marketing Companies are undertaking eKYC Aadhar authentication for LPG customers to remove bogus customers against whose name commercial cylinders are often booked by certain gas distributors. This process has been in place for more than 8 months now. In this process, the LPG Delivery Personnel while delivering LPG Cylinders to the Customer verifies credentials,” he said.
“Delivery personnel using their mobile phone captures the Aadhaar credentials of the customer through an app. The customer receives an OTP which is used to complete the process. Customers can also approach the distributor showroom at their convenience. Alternatively, Customers can also install OMC Apps and complete the e-KYC on their own,” Puri added.
The Union Minister also clarified on Satheesan’s claim that the OMC’s have reported that there are no “mustering” of consumers at gas agencies.
He stated that the oil companies will publish a media clarification to avoid trouble for customers. The government established the method for e-KYC verification of LPG to ensure that only real clients receive gas cylinders.
