New Delhi: The Government is planning to launch on October 1 a scheme for colouring kerosene for the public distribution system to prevent adulteration.

According to Petroleum Ministry officials, it will now be mandatory for oil companies to add this imported, unremovable marker to PDS kerosene. Kerosene is being mixed with diesel owing to the huge price difference. The scheme for colouring kerosene will be launched in 400 districts , Petroleum Secretary M.S. Srinivasan said. He said the marker would be imported from Authentix, and it could not be either removed or tampered with after being put into kerosene. Even adulteration up to one per cent could be detected on site.

The new marker would be different from the existing practice of using chemicals to colour kerosene blue, as this marker could not be tampered with, he said. Besides, a simple tool kit would be available to detect the use of the marked kerosene as an adulterant in either petrol or diesel. Separate tankers would be allocated for transport of the marked kerosene, thereby ensuring that petrol and diesel tankers were not used for this purpose, he said.

Officials said that for operational constraints, marking of potential adulterants would not be carried out at refineries. It would be done at terminals and depots, thereby avoiding movement of the marked product through pipelines and tank wagons.

The Ministry has already taken several steps to curb adulteration including making the Marketing Discipline Guidelines (MDG) for oil companies stricter providing for termination of dealerships in case adulteration is established at the first instance itself.

It has asked State Governments to galvanise their inspection machinery to take action against irregularities under the control orders issued under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955. In addition, the Ministry has asked oil marketing companies to introduce technological innovations to control adulteration. These include automation of retail outlets, and the installation of Global Positioning Systems on tank trucks carrying petroleum products, apart from the scheme of introducing a marker in PDS kerosene.

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