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Sonia against cut in PDS kerosene allocation


Never mind the Kirit Parikh committee's proposal for a 20% reduction in pan-India allocation of subsidised kerosene to stem oil companies' under-recoveries, the UPA government might do just the opposite. It is mulling not only the retention of the commodity—used by a vast segment of rural India for lighting—in the targeted public distribution system (TPDS) but also introduction of another item: edible oil.

Even as she is about to take over as chairperson of the National Advisory Council, UPA chief Sonia Gandhi has advised key policymakers to effectively widen the ambit of the national food security programme to provide for allocation of kerosene and edible oil to families below the poverty line (BPL), official sources told FE.

Gandhi's proposal would also amount to negating the Parikh committee proposal for some kind of rationality in the pricing of PDS kerosene, on which oil companies incur huge under-recoveries.

While the total allocation of grains to BPL families has been limited to 25 kg of wheat or rice per family per month, fair price shops operating under the TPDS will be allowed to stock any other food stuff and items which could also be a requirement for BPL families. "This effectively means that items like kerosene and cooking oil could also be made available under TPDS," said a top government source.

Gandhi's proposal would be considered by state food secretaries as they deliberate on the draft of the Food Security Bill, 2010 here on June 14 and 15.

Another major intervention by the UPA chairperson is with regard to the fact that "women shall be considered as heads of households for the purposes of distribution of BPL cards, unless there is no adult woman in the household." This is particularly significant as several studies have shown that women have been far more responsible about their families' food security as compared to men. This also ties in neatly with the pro-women tilt in policy and official appointments, which Sonia Gandhi has demonstrated till now.

Sources say the draft Bill has very strict provisions with regard to transparency in TPDS. "Not only have the state governments been given the mandate to assign the implementation of TPDS to Panchayati Raj insitutions and urban local bodies, but all TPDS records have also to be placed in the public domain to plug corruption and leakages," said an official.

The draft Bill envisages a central food security fund for payment of compensation to state governments in the event of the failure of the central government to make the required quantity of foodgrains available to state governments for distribution to BPL families. State governments will also have to set up a state food security allowance fund for payment of a food security allowance in lieu of grain.

Making the list of beneficiaries will be the Centre's responsibility; however, state governments have been given the right to add to the list, with the proviso that they would have to provide grain or allowances to these additional beneficiaries from their own coffers.

The Food Security Bill was supposed to make its debut in the first year of UPA-II. The current draft, sources say, aims to be a comprehensive piece of legislation, one which will, hopefully clear all hurdles now.

Drawing attention to the huge under-recoveries - worth Rs 28,225 crore in 2008-09 - incurred by oil companies on PDS kerosene, the Parikh committee had said that its allocation must be rationalised and price be hiked immediately by Rs 6 a litre, and thereafter hiked every year in line with the growth in per capita agricultural GDP. Reduction of PDS kerosene allocation can be done on the basis of progress in rural electrification, LPG and piped gas availability, it had said.