Vellore hoteliers wary of scheme to collect used cooking oil for bio-diesel

Vellore

Suppliers would be paid Rs 35 per litre on the spot, according to M Venkedasubbu, president TN Hotels Association. Vellore FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Association of India) designated officer Dr V Senthil Kumar told DT Next that “the conversion company has been requested to return after a fortnight for receiving the collection.” Claiming that it was a good scheme, Venkedasubbu said, “We have to wait and see the viability of the scheme as there are people in Vellore who are willing to pay Rs 70 per litre for used cooking oil.” The company’s representative said that collected oil would be taken to Hyderabad from where it would be moved to Gujarat. This has raised eyebrows as there are three RUCO conversion firms in Ranipet, Kancheepuram and Tirupur districts in Tamil Nadu itself. A company source revealed, “allowing collected oil to travel far could easily result in the oil being sold back to smaller hotels to earn a quick profit.”