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Govt. to introduce regulations preventing use of kerosene in vehicles, industries
The Government will soon introduce regulations to prevent the use of kerosene in vehicles and industries, senior officials disclosed. Ministry of Petroleum Resources Development Secretary Upali Marasinghe stated the Ministry would negotiate with the Treasury to introduce a formula for kerosene sales, in the next two to three weeks.
An internal audit conducted by the Ministry exposed a large scale racket where diesel had been mixed with kerosene at filling stations. Those operating buses and lorries had also bribed employees of filling stations to mix kerosene with diesel, when pumping fuel into their vehicles. Kerosene, according to officials, is used as a cheap substitute for diesel, as it increases the efficiency of the vehicle, though it damages the vehicle’s engine in the long term.
There have also been incidents where businessmen have purchased kerosene in bulk, to sell to those engaged in adulterating diesel with kerosene, according to the audit report. Mr Marasinghe said the racket is causing severe losses to the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) as the kerosene is sold at subsidised rates. Meanwhile, some companies which use the more expensive industrial kerosene in their machinery, have resorted to use subsidised kerosene, it has been found.
As such, a policy decision has to be taken urgently to prevent further abuse. Under the CPC Act, it is the Ministry of Finance that is authorised to impose regulations relating to fuel. “We don’t want any new measures to victimise fishermen, farmers and others who rely on kerosene, but we will have to take steps to limit bulk sales of kerosene in certain cases,” he emphasised.
CPC Chairman Dhammika Ranatunga noted that several filling stations where the adulteration had taken place, had been sealed in the past few days. He stressed that further stern action will be taken to stamp out this racket.