CHENNAI: LPG consumers without Aadhar cards may have to pay more than double the price for LPG cylinders from October as the Centre is planning to link subsidy on cooking gas to the cards.

Statistics compiled by the Unique Identification Authority of India ( UIDAI ) shows that Tamil Nadu has the lowest number of Aadhaar cards, 1.8 crore, in the south. According to the 2011 census, Tamil Nadu has a population of 7.2 crore and nearly 91 lakh LPG connections. Andhra Pradesh has 5.7 crore cards, Kerala 2.4 crore and Karnataka 2.1 crore. In Chennai, with a population of 65 lakh, only 2.3 lakh Aadhaar cards have been issued.

LPG distributors said even those with the cards will have to buy cylinders at non-subsidized rates. The government would later transfer the subsidy amount to the customer’s bank account. In Chennai, a subsidized cylinder of 14.2kg costs 380, against the market price of 891.50.

The UIDAI has issued 32 crore Aadhaar cards and nearly 80 lakh bank accounts have been linked to the cards. Sources said a pilot project for LPG subsidy transfer that plans to cover 20 districts across the country by May 15 does not touch Tamil Nadu.

Consumer activists slammed the Centre’s decision to link the cards with the subsidy. “There is no public awareness on the Aadhaar project and many don’t know how to enroll for it. But the government is in a hurry to penalize people,” said V S Suresh, consumer activist and an advocate in the Madras high court.

All India Indane Distributors’ Association general secretary C G Krishnamoorthy said, “If the Centre is going ahead with the introduction of the direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme, a majority of LPG customers in the state would have to pay more than double the price for LPG.” The government has earmarked 4,000 as annual subsidy per customer for nine cylinders of cooking gas.

Oil company sources said the DBT deadline may be extended. “It’s difficult to introduce DBT without 85% penetration of Aadhaar among LPG consumers. We expect a rush for Aadhaar cards in the next few months” said an official. Officials of the directorate of census operations shared this enthusiasm. “We are now collecting data for the National Population Register (NPR) in Tamil Nadu. Once it is being uploaded to the UIDAI website, these people will also get Aadhaar cards. This means their number will double in two months,” said M R V Krishna Rao, joint director of census operations.

Officials collect biometric information like photograph, fingerprints and iris impression for NPR.