New Delhi: The Centre's plan to give away 55,649 petrol pumps in the run-up to the next General Elections has riled up the petrol dealers association who believe that the move contradicts the government's own policy.
One of the major charges levelled by the organisation is that in its pursuit to shift to clean energy, the government has been shutting down petrol pumps and replacing them with alternative fuel stations. In such a scenario, giving away dealerships to open more petrol pumps does not gel with that policy. "On one hand, the Centre has announced the closure of petrol pumps in India replacing them with alternative fuels by 2025. But, now they are publishing advertisements for allotting the second string of new petrol pumps. So what exactly is this policy?" All India Petrol Dealers Association (AIPDA) President Ajay Bansal asked.
Currently, there are 56,000 retail petrol pumps of three government oil marketing companies (OMCs) — Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL), and Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL), besides another 6,000 outlets owned by private companies.
"On one hand, the Centre has announced the closure of petrol pumps in India replacing them with alternative fuels by 2025. But, now they are publishing advertisements for allotting the second string of new petrol pumps. So what exactly is this policy?"
From these fuel stations, the average monthly sales for the three OMCs are between 120-130 kilolitre with an average increase in demand on petrol-diesel of around four per cent per annum.