India: OMCs have a system of monitoring and surveillance at the Retail Outlets and checking of adulteration is a continuous process

By teadmin On Aug 4, 2021

New Delhi: The Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Shri Rameswar Teli in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha today informed that Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) have a system of monitoring and surveillance at the Retail Outlets and checking of adulteration is a continuous process. OMCs take action as per Marketing Discipline Guidelines and Dealership Agreement against retail outlet dealers where case of adulteration is established. The Central Government has also issued the Motor Spirit and High Speed Diesel (Regulation of Supply, Distribution and Prevention of Malpractices) Order, 2005 under Essential Commodities Act, 1955 which provides for punitive action against malpractices such as adulteration of petroleum products.

Established cases of adulteration are classified as ‘Critical irregularities’ under the MDG and in such cases the retail outlet dealership are terminated in first instance itself.

During the last 3 years (FY 2018-19 to 2020-21) and current year (April 2021- June 2021) OMCs have terminated 19 retail outlets in established cases of adulteration.

Important initiatives taken by OMCs in this regard include:-

Making available Filter Paper, Calibrated Density Equipment (Hydrometer/Thermometer) & 5 Liter Calibrated Measure at the Retail Outlets for checking quality & quantity of MS/HSD.
Conducting Regular / Surprise inspections at Retail Outlets by OMC Field Officers/ Senior Officers/Mobile labs throughout the country. In case of irregularities, action is taken as per the MDG and dealership agreement.
Creation of a separate Quality Assurance Cell (QAC) for carrying out inspections.
Drawing of samples from petrol pumps at random and sending for testing to authorized laboratories.
Sealing of tankers before leaving company premises to protect against pilferage/adulteration en-route.
Installation of GPS to monitor movement of Tank Trucks carrying MS / HSD.
Conducting Third Party Audit of Retail Outlets by OMCs for effective monitoring and benchmarking.
Automation of Retail Outlets by OMCs which enable the real-time capture of sales transaction and monitoring of tank stocks and receipts.