114 Kls of SK oil hijacked, disappear
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, June 17 2012:
Whereas the general public have been reeling under acute shortage of Superior Kerosene (SK) Oil for the past many years, 114 Kilolitres of the same commodity, which is also one fundamental item of the Public Distribution System, have disappeared without any trace.
The quantity of SK Oil which has disappeared mysteriously was out of the monthly allocation of May.
Independent investigation conducted by The Sangai Express revealed that the same quantity of SK Oil was siphoned off and given to illicit SK oil traders by some top-ranking Government officials.
According to sources, the total quantity of SK Oil allocated to Manipur for the month of May was 2112 Kls.
This quantity should be further allocated to district level dealers after which agents having Government permits should lift their quotas from the dealers for ultimate distribution to the public.
The Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution issued two allocations on May 8 for distribution of the monthly quota of 2112 Kls of SK Oil to the public.
As per the allocation order issued by the Government, a total of 1903 Kls was issued to Imphal West, Imphal East, ADC Jiribam, Thoubal, Bishnupur, Churachandpur, Chandel, Ukhrul, Senapati and ADC Kangpokpi.
The second allocation order issued 95 Kls to Tamenglong district.
The allocation order also included 72 Kls for M/S T Bhimo.
Even though the monthly allocation was 2112 Kls, the allocation orders left out 114 Kls, much to the amazement of the IOC officials.
In accordance to the allocation orders, SK Oil was released to the dealers from Chingmeirong depot.
After the allocated quantity was released to the dealers, the Government issued another allocation order on May 21 specifying that the remaining 114 Kls of SK Oil was for MLA pool.
But the general norm is, 3 Kls are allocated to each MLA which means the total quantity for the MLA pool should be 180 Kls.
The order also directed that the remaining 114 Kls of SK oil should be issued to a particular agency which was promptly complied with.
Though the total quantity of SK Oil allocated to the said agency during the month was 186 Kls, only 184 Kls were released.
The source further revealed that the 114 Kls of SK Oil allocated through an order issued on May 21 were given to illegal SK fuel traders.
When The Sangai Express approached the said agency, the dealer disclosed that the 114 Kls of SK Oil issued to them in the latter part of May were not actually for the agency.
It was for some people and they were only using the dealer's storage tank.
On further enquiring about the agents/people to whom the permits were issued to lift the 114 Kls of SK fuel, the dealer denied having any knowledge.
They said that the details would be available from an official of the State Government.
Further investigation confirmed that the same quantity of SK Oil have been handed over to black-marketers.
As one individual very close to a Minister was involved in selling off the 114 Kls of SK Oil to black-marketers, there is every room to suspect that the whole dealing was done with knowledge of the Minister, conveyed the source.
There are also a good number of indications which say that some Ministers, MLAs and high-ranking officials of the department are involved in the illicit SK oil trade notwithstanding the fact that there is acute shortage of SK Oil in Manipur and people have been buying the same commodity from black markets at exorbitant prices.
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