By Ifham Nizam
Depending on the outcome of the three member committee to look into the substandard diesel which caused problems in most quarters of the transport sector, action will be taken, a ministry official said.
Sources close to Petroleum Minister Susil Premajayantha told Ceylon Today the minister will take strict action against anyone found guilty. The spokesman added, that during the previous occasion, when found guilty on an alleged fuel transaction, the former CPC Chairman was asked to resign and the Commercial Manager was interdicted upon the instructions of the minister.
Environment Minister Anura Priyadharshana Yapa, attending the SLFP press briefing said, according to Premajayantha, the alleged fuel was purchased from a tender with the lowest bid. He said the relevant minister will act upon the three member investigations.
Meanwhile, energy experts said the alleged fuel is certainly substandard as it was mixed with either kerosene or crude oil. “It was clear that during random checkups, black fumes were witnessed, which is one of the indicators that fuel contains high sulphur levels,” an expert said.
He also said there should be an independent body to check fuel standards and vesting all powers to the CPC would do no good to the industry.
CPC, trade union, the Jathika Sewaka Sangamaya charged that the stock of diesel behind the ongoing controversy, was imported from a firm that had been previously banned.
Union Secretary Ananda Palitha charged there has been fraud behind the process of importing the stock of diesel.
He stressed that action needs to be taken against the team that independently observed the process.
“We have to say that the independent monitoring team is involved in some kind of fraud. Why we say this is because this company has been removed from the registered list for violating regulations many years ago," he added.
