BJD seeks Prez intervention to resolve kerosene quota row

The ruling BJD today sought President Pranab Mukherjee's intervention for restoration of kerosene quota to Odisha to meet the people's equirement.
"We request your kind honour for personal intervention in the matter with a line of direction to the Government of India for restoration of reduced Superior Kerosene Oil allocation of the state so as to accomodate all the beneficiaries under National Food Security Act, availability of SK Oil for institutional supply and to open non-PDS outlets in each district/block/ULB headquarters of the state," the BJD members said in a memorandum to the president.
The memorandum pointed out that while Odisha was allocated 4 lakh kl of SK oil in 2011-12, it was reduced to 2.92 lakh kl in 2016-17. During 2016-17, the allocation was drastrically reduced by 97,428 kl, which is 25 per cent less than the regular allotment.

The present allotment by the Centre is being distributed to 86,16,275 families which covers 3,23,33148 NFSA beneficiaries of the state and the entire list is available in the official website, the BJD said.
Stating that the govenrment of India has been requested time and again to restore the previous SK oil quota, BJD said it has not yet been considered. This has created resentment among the bonafide consumers.
This apart, there is also requirement of SK oil for bulk consumers like hostels, jails, medicals, police stations, marine and agriculture sectors and accordingly, the Centre was requested for enhancement of its quota in the state by 40,000 kl per month.

However, inspite of repeated requests, the monthly SK oil quota of the state is being reduced continuously, said Food Supplies and Comsumer Welfare Minister Sanjay Dasburma, who led a motorbike rally to the Raj Bhavan.

He said the non-card holders as well as bulk institutional consumers are experiencing a lot of difficulties to access SK oil in open market to meet their daily requirement for lighting purpose during power cuts or power failures.
In order to sort out the issue, state level officials of oil marketing companies and the ministry of petroleum and natural gas have been requested to open outlets to sell non-PDS SK oil but they have not yet made arrangements for opening outlets to supply non-PDS SK oil at district/block and urban local bodies headquarters to cater to the need of the common pople.

Dasburma also pointed out that the state is frequently affected by natural calamities like floods, cyclone and drought during which the demand of SKO increases manifold.
Further, sizable number of families are residing in inaccessible hilly terrain of the state where SKO is essentially required for lighting and cooking, he said.