The Hindu Business Line : Kerosene supply pilot project extended

The Government has decided to further extend the pilot project of Jan Kerosene Pariyojna (JKP) by another nine months (up to June 30, 2007). According to Petroleum Ministry officials, "for a more meaningful evaluation of the JKP, it has been decided to further extend the pilot scheme by a period of nine months."

Launched in October last year, the scheme was introduced for radically revamping the distribution network of the kerosene sold under public distribution system (PDS). The pilot project, which become effective from October 2, 2005, was initially introduced for a period of six months, that was extended up to June 2006 and then again up to September 30, 2006.

To begin with, the project covered about 430 blocks. It was aimed at ensuring that the heavily subsidised PDS kerosene is actually made available in the required quantities at subsidised prices to the intended beneficiaries. The Petroleum Ministry has been maintaining that it wanted transparency in supply and distribution of kerosene. The Petroleum Minister, Mr Murli Deora, has said that his Ministry wants to plug the diversion of subsidised kerosene to the black market and ensure that it reaches the rightful user.

The scheme endeavours to check diversion of PDS kerosene from going into adulteration of other petroleum products. The JKP is being implemented by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Ministry of Panchayati Raj in association with State Governments and U.T. administrations. Based on the experience of the pilot project, the scheme was to be extended to cover all the blocks numbering about 6,000 in the country after its effectiveness has been evaluated.

The Petroleum Ministry had roped in the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) to study the impact. As per reports, after five months of implementation, the NCAER study had concluded that the scheme was facing problems at the distribution levels.

More Stories on : Social Welfare | Petroleum

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page