Nitish demands Centre to increase kerosene quota

Patna, Jul 16 (UNI) Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today demanded that the Centre increase quota of kerosene oil by 34 per cent for the Below Poverty Line (BPL) and Above Poverty Line (APL) families.

He also appealed to the Opposition to exert pressure on the UPA government in this regard.

Intervening into the reply of the Minister of State for Food and Civil supply Suchitra Sinha in the Assembly to a special debate on kerosene oil crisis, Mr Kumar said in view of just 72 unit per person consumption of electricity in the state against the national average of 603 units and unavailability of cooking gas had forced the people to depend on kerosene oil for both the purpose.

Admitting some irregularities in Public Distribution System (PDS), he said the government had taken several steps to streamline it.

Mr Kumar said the state government had decided to provide five litre kerosene oil to each BPL and 2.5 litre to each APL families.

Following demands from every corner, the distribution was, however, fixed to four litres to each families of both categories.

He also disclosed that APL and BPL families residing in rural and urban areas should be provided with 9,30,18,880 litres to the state against the present allocation of about seven crore litres.

Mr Kumar also disclosed that he had requested Union Petroleum Minister Murli Deora to enhance the quota, but the Centre had informed to reduce the allocation.

The Centre had decided not to distribute kerosene to APL families on the basis of the recomendations of the National Council of Applied Research and C Rangrajan committee report.

Mr Kumar also said the state government had urged the Centre to directly authorise it for distribution thereby snapping the wholesale system under which the wholeseller would directly supply the oil to the blocks.

The chief minister further said none of his proposal was accepted by the Centre.

UNI