Thiruvananthapuram: KSRTC has filed a petition in the high court against the sharp hike in prices of bulk purchased fuel from public sector oil companies.
On February 18, 2022, the oil companies were refueling KSRTC at Rs 4.41 more than the market price and on March 16, 2017 at Rs 27.88 more than the current market price. The petition contends that this is unjust and cannot justify the provision of fuel at twice the rate of private vehicles provided by KSRTC, which provides services to the public on non-profit routes.
Petroleum corporations consider KSRTC to be a bulk consumer as it requires 300 to 400 kiloliters of diesel per day and so much diesel to operate on a daily schedule. Such companies can open their own consumer pumps. There are 72 such consumer pumps at various depots of KSRTC. KSRTC has 66 IOC, five HPACL and one BPCL pump. Diesel has long been available at a discounted rate due to bulk purchases through these pumps. Now the oil companies are suggesting that the discount should be removed and that the price should be higher than the market rate.
When private bus operators buy a liter of diesel from any fuel pump in Kerala and a bus from a retail outlet for Rs 93.47, KSRTC has to pay Rs 121.36 for a liter of diesel. In other words, the oil companies are supplying diesel to KSRTC at a difference of Rs 27.88 over the market price. The oil companies did not say how the price increase came about. The petition filed by KSRTC states that this is not in line with equal justice.