In a big blow to kerosene black market in Bangalore, the Food and Civil Supplies department has plugged the illegal diversion of subsidised kerosene to the tune of 500 kilo litre (5 lakh litre) every month, which was actually meant for the benefit of poor under Public Distribution System (PDS).
What the department did was very simple -- it asked all ration card holders (BPL and APL non-LPG beneficiaries) to give a declaration that they are residing in the same address as shown in their ration cards in Bangalore, in June 2007.
Then things started unfolding on their own. Of around 8 lakh ration card holders (both BPL and APL) in the City, nearly 1 lakh card holders did not make any declaration. “Despite extending the declaration period for two months till August 15, nearly one lakh card holders did not turn up. That exposed the illegal diversion. Subsidised kerosene was not reaching one lakh card holders. Instead so much quota of kerosene used to get diverted,” Food and Civil Supplies department Commissioner P N Srinivasachary told Deccan Herald.
The Government supplies eight litres of kerosene to BPL and APL (non-LPG) card holders at a subsidised rate of Rs 10 per litre. A litre of kerosene costs Rs 34 per litre in the open market. In other words, every litre of kerosene under PDS carries Rs 24 subsidy, he added.
Accordingly, the total cost of kerosene which has been saved from being illegally diverted is a whopping Rs 1.70 crore per month. The department had been distributing nearly 5,000 kilo litre of subsidised kerosene every month through PDS.
“Now, after finding out about actual beneficiaries, we have cut the total supply by 500 kilo litre. The kerosene that has been saved from illegal diversion is now being distributed among genuine beneficiaries in other parts of the State, Mr Srinivasachary said.
However, the department has not been able to take action against any shop owners as they washed their hands of the ‘murky’ dealings.
“We couldn’t take action as they (shop owners) claimed that they were distributing to the beneficiaries,” the Commissioner stated.
Official sources in the department said that the fair shop owners were colluded with those operating the black market in kerosene. The shop owners used to procure the full quota of kerosene as per the number of card holders in their shops. They used to divert the quota of kerosene, which were not availed by the beneficiaries. But for the record, they used to show that the entire quantity of kerosene has been distributed among beneficiaries, officials explained.
