Yeddyurappa asks Centre to restore PDS kerosene allotment

In a letter to Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Murli Deora, he said Karnataka, which was hitherto getting a monthly allotment of 49,396 KL of PDS kerosene, was now suddenly given a reduced allocation of 46,900 KL. This shortage in kerosene allotment amounts to 2,496 KL per month.

He said Karnataka had been at the forefront of reforms in PDS and was ensuring availability of kerosene to the needy consumers.

The state has embarked on a comprehensive computerisation project, including bio-metrics and digital photography. In Karnataka, kerosene has not been issued to even a single LPG consumer since 2001.

The state was facing power deficit and hence the need of kerosene was greater in rural areas. The large rural population was dependent on PDS kerosene for its daily needs of cooking and other purposes. This rural population was about 71 per cent of the total state population and the kerosene being given is only three litres per family.

Yeddyurappa requested Deora's intervention in restoring the kerosene allocation for the state to 49,396 KL per month with immediate effect to overcome the hardship of summer and to ensure that the rural masses were not deprived of their quota of the fuel.