Govt 'marks' kerosene to check adulteration

TNN / Oct 5, 2006, 01:53 IST

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The oil ministry launched marketing of kerosene laced with imported 'markers' to check diversion of the subsidised fuel for adulteration of motor fuels and industrial solvents.

Govt 'marks' kerosene to check adulteration

NEW DELHI: The death of S Manjunath, the strapping young IndianOil field officer murdered last year for cracking down on motor fuel adulteration, it seems has not gone in vain.
The oil ministry on Wednesday launched marketing of kerosene laced with imported 'markers' to check diversion of the subsidised fuel for adulteration of motor fuels and industrial solvents.
"The new marker system being introduced for the first time by the oil industry in alignment with international practices is expected to curb auto fuel adulteration," oil minister Murli Deora said after launching the programme at IndianOil's Bijwasan terminal here.
The TOI had first reported the move on July 6. The chosen marker is being imported from UK firm Authentix. It has been selected through a pilot project run by Hindustan Petroleum at Vashi near Mumbai.

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Haryana

Alliance View
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Seats: 90

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Majority: 46

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48

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37

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The marker does not change the colour of kerosene but if the marker-laced kerosene or naphtha is mixed with diesel, the adulteration will show up by changing the colour of a test capsule.
Petroleum secretary M S Srinivasan said all 32,000 petrol pumps in the country would be equipped with a testing kit within four months.
"Consumers can use the kit to test the fuel and report adulteration." IndianOil chairman Sarthak Behuria said the entire programme would cost the oil industry Rs 160 crore annually.

Since June-July, the ministry has been weighing various options to check adulteration. Two studies commissioned by the ministry reckon nearly five million kilolitres of subsidised kerosene meant for the poor is diverted every year, given the current supply levels.
At a conservative estimate, this puts Rs 10,000 crore at stake for "gangs of Mafia proportions" involved in adulteration business.
The studies by National Council of Applied Economic Research and National Institute of Public Finance and Planning concur that subsidy gives kerosene an undue price advantage against other fuels and forces its diversion at the cost of poor families for whom it is meant.

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