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The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has issued a clarification on reports that kerosene quota to Gujarat has been curtailed.
In a statement issued here on Friday, the Ministry said kerosene allocation to Gujarat during 2005-06 was 95,5730 kilolitre (KL). This came down to 92,0556 KL in 2010-11 and 67,3584 KL in 2011-12.
It said during 2005-06 to 2010-11, the number of LPG connections in Gujarat increased from 47.39 lakh to 62.41 lakh, approximately a 32 per cent rise. Further, about 6.5 lakh households have piped natural gas in the State. In view of this, its requirement of kerosene for PDS has correspondingly come down, it said.
In 2010-11, Gujarat had per capita availability of kerosene of 15.7 litres annually compared with between 6 to 8 litres a year in Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
“As the kerosene requirement for an individual remains the same throughout the country, there was a need to bring kerosene quota of Gujarat in line with the national average which stands at 9.5 litres per person per year,” it said.
Also, the Ministry said diversion of PDS SKO for adulteration of auto fuel by unscrupulous persons cannot be ruled out in view of the substantial price difference.
“This is a major issue in Gujarat and in other States. In view of this, the government has been taking several steps to plug the menace of diversion of subsidised PDS SKO, including rationalisation in allocation of this product,” it said.
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