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Notice to Centre on opening of new petrol outlets
The Madras High Court has ordered notice to the Centre, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board and various petroleum agencies like Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited challenging their move to open as many as 65,000 new petrol retail outlets, including 5,180 new retail outlets in Tamil Nadu, without establishing the process of complying with the prevailing laws.
By
migrator
migrator
Chennai
A division bench comprising Justice S Manikumar and Justice Subramomium Prasad before whom the plea came up ordered notice along with recording the aspect thatan interim stay has been granted by the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court in a similar plea.
The plea had contended that the Centre without holding any feasibility and viability study has resolved to set up such huge number of retail outlets in violation of the existing laws and ignoring the effect it could have on the environment and public safety.
Noting that the present move to install these new retail outlets surpasses the number of outlets set up during the past 70 years, the plea submitted that the yard stick of each retail outlet having a minimum sale of at least 150 to 200 KL per month as recommended by the Apurva Chandra Committee created for the purpose of setting up retail outlets, has been ignored.
Moreover, the Government has also announced its intention to cut down the existing sources of fuel by replacing the same with e-mobility drive across the country. But the impugned action of the Government’s move in establishing new outlets, is in absolute contradiction of the said drive for an alternative fuel policy as well as each bunk maintaining the prescribed minimum sale, the plea said.
Submitting that the move of setting up such huge number of retail outlets has been done with an eye on the Parliament elections, the plea sought to stay all proceedings issued pursuant to the advertisement issued in this regard on November 24, 2018 and direct the Corporations to comply with the prevailing laws as spelt out by the Indian Road Congress (IRC) while locating such retail outlets.
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