(FE)
Four more states/union territories around the national capital region have become ‘kerosene-free’, in what showed the success of the government’s drive to minimise usage of this fuel. According to official data, Andhra Pradesh, Dadar-Nagar Haveli, Daman-Diu and Puducherry haven’t lifted PDS kerosene for the first quarter of FY19. Allocation of kerosene to Chandigarh, Delhi, Haryana and Punjab had stopped earlier.
The overall allocation of kerosene by the Centre for the public distribution system has been falling over the years, with the pace of decline getting sharper in the recent years (see chart). The Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana under which BPL households are given LPG connections has accelerated the fall in consumption of kerosene, along with cash incentives given to the states on reduced kerosene off-take. The declining kerosene use has also brought down the oil marketing companies’ under-recoveries on the fuel, which along with LPG is still getting subsidy support from the Centre while the auto fuel prices are decontrolled.
