The Hindu : Front Page : Petrol pumps: Centre lifts freeze

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Apr 30, 2006

Front Page

Front Page

Petrol pumps: Centre lifts freeze

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: The Centre on Saturday lifted the freeze on setting up of petrol pumps by the public sector oil companies while asking them to carry out an economic analysis of their existing retail network.

According to an official release here, the Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Murli Deora, directed the four public sector oil marketing companies, namely Indian Oil (IOC), Bharat Petroleum (BPCL), Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL) and IBP, to resume the setting up of their retail outlets.

Earlier this month, the Petroleum Ministry had clamped a temporary freeze on the expansion of their retail outlet network by the OMCs as it found that a mushrooming of petrol pumps was rendering many of them sick. Mr. Deora has now directed that the selection of dealership for retail outlets by the OMCs be resumed forthwith.

This step, the release said, has been taken to avoid unnecessary hurdles in expanding the marketing network to low service, remote and rural areas as also in the allotment of dealerships to the weaker sections such as SCs/STs, physically handicapped, war widows and ex-servicemen.

Survey of outlets

Alongside, however, Mr. Deora stressed that the OMCs should complete the scientific survey of retail outlets within four months for strengthening and revamping their marketing network. These directions, the release said, were given by the Minister on Tuesday while reviewing the Government's decision in this regard, following representations from the OMCs and the candidates for dealerships.

With the freeze now lifted with immediate effect, the OMCs and the Petroleum Ministry are now expected to work in a time-bound manner to streamline the process of expansion of their retail network. In particular, they are to evolve steps to strengthen and rehabilitate those retail outlets whose viability has been significantly eroded owing to "unhealthy and indiscriminate" expansion in the last few years.

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