CHENNAI: Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Rameswar Teli informed the house the allocation of kerosene to Tamil Nadu is being reduced every year by the Union government. He said this in response to queries raised by DMK’s Deputy Floor Leader Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, seeking details of kerosene allocations to the state in the last five years.
Explaining the rationale behind the reductions, minister Teli highlighted the Union government’s initiatives to rationalise PDS Kerosene allocation to states and union territories since 2010-11. “This strategic move aimed to address the environmental impact of kerosene while considering factors like increased domestic LPG/PNG connections, wider electricity coverage, and instances of non-utilisation of PDS Kerosene quotas by States/UTs,” he said.
According to the details provided by the minister, PDS kerosene allocation to Tamil Nadu decreased from 1,93,776 KL in 2018-2019 to 54,240 KL in 2022-2023. Similarly, non-subsidised kerosene allocation dropped from 17,040 KL in 2018-2019 to 7536 KL in 2022-2023.
‘Strategic move’
The minister said it is a strategic move aimed to address the environmental impact of kerosene while considering factors like increased domestic LPG/PNG connections and wider electricity coverage