the goan I network
PANAJI
The plan of Oil PSUs to more than double their retail marketing network by allotting a whopping 177 more fuel pumps in Goa is heading into a storm with existing dealers set to challenge the Centre’s decision in court.
The move will be challenged by the apex body of fuel retailers All India Petrol Dealers Association (AIPDA), its president Ajay Bansal has announced.
Narhar Thakur, member of the Goa retail dealers association, told The Goan that the move to flood the State and country with fuel pumps was paradoxical as it went contrary to the government’s policy of closing down pumps and replacing them with alternate fuels such as CNG and electric vehicles by 2025.
The Centre had on Monday announced that it would allocate through a lot system some 55,649 new petrol pumps in the country, including some 177 in Goa. Thakur said more than 30 per cent of the nearly 100-plus existing fuel pumps in Goa were not lucrative either due to location problems or other factors.
“At least 20-25 per cent of our members will be more than willing to sell off provided they get value for the investments they have made,” Thakur added, while questioning the move of the Oil companies to go in for such a large scale of expansion of the retail network.
The three government-oil marketing companies (OMCs) -- Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL), Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) and Indian Oil Corp Ltd (IOCL) - own around 50,000 petrol pumps across the country and hog a lion’s share of the retail pie. There are a few private players such as Reliance and Essar as well.
The retail dealers are questioning the Centre’s logic of opening a whopping 55,000-plus outlets in one go now as against the 56,000 set up in 70 years since independence when the annual growth of sales is just 4 per cent.
The retail dealer association has faulted the government and are accusing it of jeopardising the retail fuel business for popularity in an election year.
Thakur said the claim of oil companies that the business is lucrative was far from reality. Only if the land on which the petrol pump is being located is already owned by the investor, the business proposal is good since land is the largest portion of the investment, he added.
