The deadline of May 15 for linking Aadhaar numbers to supply of subsidised LPG cylinders under the Direct Benefits Transfer (DBT) scheme will not be extended any further, the Centre declared yesterday.

The government has already extended the Aadhaar-LPG deadline twice, but sources suggest that the task of linking Aadhaar numbers to beneficiaries' bank accounts is still far from complete.

However, representatives of oil marketing companies have informed chief secretary Minnie Mathew that they would stick to the deadline. In order to give a boost to process, the oil companies have also agreed to deposit the subsidy amount in arrears in case the beneficiaries submit their Aadhaar numbers to their respective gas agencies within a period of six months.

Only Aadhaar number holders will be entitled to the subsidy amount, which the oil companies will deposit in the bank accounts. Others will have to purchase cooking-gas cylinders at market price.

But, merely 45 per cent of consumers have so far been covered for LPG subsidy under the scheme, though the process is in full swing to make sure that all genuine customers are covered under the scheme.

Finance Principal Secretary Dr P. V. Ramesh said, "We have to take care of the re-maining consumers before the deadline."

A survey by the oil marketing companies revealed that that nearly 25-30 per cent of LPG connections were in bogus names.

The price of a subsidised LPG cylinder is around Rs 420, while the same cylinder costs a whopping Rs 1,020 at the market price.