Other States - Rajasthan   

Enhance kerosene allocation, Centre told

Special Correspondent

Rajasthan Government for more delivery centres under PDS in tribal areas

JAIPUR: The Rajasthan Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Kalulal Gujjar, has urged the Centre to enhance the allocation of kerosene to the State and open more delivery centres under the Public Distribution System (PDS) in the desert and tribal-dominated regions in the western and southern parts of the State. People in Rajasthan had to travel long distances for reaching the fair price shops, he said.

Mr. Gujjar, addressing a conference of Panchayati Raj and Food and Civil Supplies Ministers from the States in New Delhi over the week-end, said that the difficult geographical features of Rajasthan necessitated a broad network of distribution centres of kerosene, especially for the Dalit and tribal populations living in the remote areas. "The scattered population in some parts of the State throws a formidable challenge to the PDS," he said. The conference at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi was convened to discuss a pilot project being launched by the Central Government on October 2 next to strengthen the kerosene distribution network under the PDS. The Union Minister for Panchayati Raj, Mani Shankar Aiyar, presided over the conference. Mr. Gujjar, while underlining the need for opening more kerosene delivery centres, said the State Government had initiated steps for associating the distribution of the commodity with the Panchayati Raj. The vigilance committees constituted at the village panchayat and panchayat samiti levels were looking after the PDS to ensure its proper functioning, he added.

The Minister appreciated the Centre's initiative to launch the pilot project and expressed the hope that it would help in timely delivery of kerosene to the wholesale suppliers and check the black-marketing tendencies.

Mr. Gujjar pointed out that Rajasthan was presently getting 42,000 kilolitres of kerosene as its quota, restricting the distribution to only 3 litres on each ration card. He said a hike in the allocation would help in the delivery of sufficient quantity of kerosene to those needing it.

The Principal Secretary, Food and Civil Supplies, Meenakshi Hooja, and the Principal Secretary, Panchayati Raj, M.K. Khanna, also attended the conference as the State Government's representatives. Ms. Hooja said the burden of expenditure on transporting kerosene through tankers and barrels to the fair price shops should not be shifted to the consumers.

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Enhance kerosene allocation, Centre told

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