Adequate monitoring mechanism available for identifying and checking adulteration in petrol and diesel
Various initiatives and methods adopted by OMCs to curb adulteration
The Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Shri Rameswar Teli in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today informed that the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) are aware of problem of adulteration in petrol and diesel and have adequate monitoring mechanism for identifying and checking adulteration. It is a continuous process and OMCs have been taking various steps/methods to curb adulteration to ensure that end customers get the right quality and quantity.
Various initiatives and methods have been adopted by OMCs as per Marketing Discipline Guidelines (MDG) and the Dealership Agreement, to curb adulteration, which includes:
- Making available Filter Paper, Calibrated Density Equipment (Hydrometer/Thermometer) & 5 Liter Calibrated Measure at the Retail Outlets for checking quality & quantity of MS/HSD.
(ii) 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.
(iii) Creation of a separate Quality Assurance Cell (QAC) for carrying out inspections.
(iv) Drawing of samples from petrol pumps at random and sending for testing to authorized laboratories.
(v) Sealing of tankers before leaving company premises to protect against pilferage/adulteration en-route.
(vi) Installation of GPS to monitor movement of Tank Trucks carrying MS / HSD.
(vii) Conducting Third Party Audit of Retail Outlets by OMCs for effective monitoring and benchmarking.
(viii) Automation of Retail Outlets by OMCs which enable the real-time capture of sales transaction and monitoring of tank stocks and receipts.
Established cases of adulteration are classified as ‘Critical irregularities’ under the Marketing Discipline Guidelines and in such cases the retail outlet dealerships are terminated in first instance itself by OMCs. 58 number of retail outlets have been terminated by OMCs on the established cases of adulteration for the years from 2015-16 to Apr-Sep 2021.
OMCs have intimated that they have not carried out any study on use of adulterated petrol and diesel causing more pollution than pure petrol and diesel.
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YB/RKM
(Release ID :228023)