A senior official from the state food and civil supplies department said the demand for kerosene had fallen due to the rollout of more LPG connections by the three state-run oil marketing companies (OMCs).
The ubiquitous kerosene may be losing favour in Maharashtra with demand for the subsidised cooking fuel falling rapidly. State government officials attribute this to a rollout of LPG connections as well as the weeding out of gas consumers from the list of those eligible for subsidised kerosene under the public distribution system (PDS).
In a four-year period from 2013 to 2017, the supply of kerosene in Maharashtra has reduced by 83,976 kilo litre (KL). The demand for the cooking fuel has shown a monthly fall of around 2,000 KL in Mumbai and urban parts of Thane in a year.
A senior official from the state food and civil supplies department said the demand for kerosene had fallen due to the rollout of more LPG connections by the three state-run oil marketing companies (OMCs).
The department had verified the list of LPG connections with PDS cards and stamped the cards of those with gas connections to prevent them from diverting kerosene to the open market.
Mahesh Pathak, principal secretary, food and civil supplies, noted that the stamping had led to consumers with LPG connections being weeded out from the beneficiary list. Maharashtra has 2.34 crore LPG connections; by June, 1.39 crore ration cards have been stamped and validated.
"White (non-subsidised) kerosene is available now. This has reduced the need for diversion into the open market... We eventually plan to eliminate (subsidised PDS kerosene) with only white kerosene being used for non-domestic purposes," he said.
At a glance
From 2013 to 2017, the supply of kerosene in Maharashtra has reduced by 83,976 KL. Government plans to move towards a “kerosene-free” state by replacing kerosene with smoke-free and healthier LPG
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