Kerosene supply reduced in Kerala ration shops; owners in crisis

Kozhikode: As the State's kerosene allocation has decreased, a decision has been made to limit its distribution to one or two shops per panchayat. The Commissioner of Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs has instructed District Supply Officers to submit a report on this matter. Dealers are reluctant to participate in supply if the number of shops offering kerosene is restricted. Also, the Ration Dealers Coordination Committee has written to the Minister and Secretary of Food and Civil Supplies, and to the Commissioner of Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs.

Ration shop owners who do not have kerosene supply may face difficulties as consumers may choose to buy essentials, including rice, from shops that do supply kerosene. Ration traders have been facing financial challenges as wage packages have not been increased since 2018.

The State used to receive up to 720 kiloliters of kerosene per month before COVID-19. Now, it receives only up to 780 kiloliters every three months, with the allocation for the April-June 2024 quarter reduced from 1,944 kiloliters due to delays in acquisition and disbursement of allotments from December 2023.

Only pink and yellow card holders are eligible to receive kerosene. With the reduced allocation, they will now receive only a quarter of a litre each once every three months. Civil supply officials state that the bottleneck lies in the reduction of wholesalers supplying kerosene to ration shops.

In many districts, the number of wholesalers has decreased by a quarter. In the absence of distributors, many sellers now source kerosene from district centres at their own expense.

Following instructions received on July 4, District Supply Officers have sought reports from Taluk Supply Offices on the feasibility of limiting distribution. However, specific criteria for selecting ration shops have not been finalised.

Supply conditional on kerosene distribution to all shops

Supply will be carried out only if kerosene is made available to all ration shops. If it's limited to only a few shops, other sellers will face a crisis. Just like food grains, kerosene should also be delivered to ration shops, says T Muhammad Ali, State General Secretary, All Kerala Retail Ration Dealers Association