Question : Adulteration of Petrol-Diesel

(a) whether the incidents of under measurement and adulteration of petrol/diesel by various petrol pumps in the country including Delhi and NCR have been noticed by the Government during the last three years and the current year;
(b) if so, the details thereof and the number of complaints against the petrol pumps/persons involved received by the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) and the punitive action including cancellation of their licenses, taken against them, OMC/ State/UT-wise including Delhi/NCR; and
(c) whether the National Green Tribunal has recently directed to the Central Pollution Control Boards, Petroleum Ministry and State Pollution Control Boards to conduct surprise inspection of petrol pumps in Delhi and NCR to check adulteration and if so, the details thereof and action taken by the Government; and
(d) the steps taken by the Government to launch regular drives/surprise checks and evolved a mechanism at national level to curb such malpractices and ensure efficient service to customers by various petrol pumps in the country during the said period, OMC/State/UT-wise?

MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) IN THE MINISTRY OF PETROLEUM & NATURAL GAS (SHRI DHARMENDRA PRADHAN)
(a)& (b) : Details of cases detected by Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) namely, Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) related to under-measurement and adulteration detected at retail outlets during the last three years and current year (April-December, 2015) are annexed as Annexure-I.
Contd….2/-
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In proven cases of under-measurement and adulteration, there is a provision to cancel the license in the Marketing Discipline Guidelines (MDG)/Dealership Agreement. OMCs have terminated 172 retail outlets for such irregularities during the last three years and current year (April – December, 2015). State/ OMC-wise detail for the said period is annexed as Annexure-II.
(c) : Yes, Madam, Hon’ble National Green Tribunal (NGT), Principal Bench, New Delhi has passed Orders dated 21.12.2015, 25.01.2016 and 16.02.16 in O.A. No.561 of 2015 filed by Cherub Singla Vs Union of India & Others, directing the Central Pollution Control Board, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and State Pollution Control Boards to conduct inspection of petrol pumps in Delhi and NCR to detect adulteration particularly with reference to Naphtha and Kerosene. In line with the above Orders, the Ministry is closely working with various agencies, like National Physical Laboratory (NPL), Pusa, New Delhi, Indian Institute of Petroleum (IIP), Dehradun, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC), Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB), Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) etc. for compliance of NGT Orders.
(d) : Public Sector OMCs undertake regular and surprise inspection of Retail Outlets and take action under the provisions MDG and Dealership Agreements against the outlets found indulging in irregularities/malpractices. The MDG provides for termination of outlets in the first instance for serious malpractices and graded penalties for other malpractices/irregularities. The Motor Spirit and High Speed Diesel (Regulation of Supply, Distribution and Prevention of Malpractices) Order, 2005 issued by the Central Government under Essential Commodities Act, 1955 provides for punitive action also against malpractices such as adulteration. Several initiatives to prevent irregularities in Retail Outlets have been taken that include Automation of Retail Outlets, Third Party Certification of Retail outlets and Monitoring of movement of tank trucks through Global Positioning System (GPS). State/OMC-wise detail of inspections carried out at Retail Outlets during last three years and current year up to December, 2015 is annexed as Annexure-III.
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