Lok Sabha Question No. 4161 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-03-22
Subject: Adulteration in Petrol
Ministry: PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS
Asked by: Rajeshbhai Naranbhai Chudasama, Kirti Vardhan Singh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF PETROLEUM & NATURAL GAS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4161

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 22 ND  MARCH, 2021

## Adulteration in Petrol

4161. SHRI RAJESHBHAI CHUDASAMA:

SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH:

पेोिलयम और ाकृितक गैस मंी

Will the Minister of PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether it is a fact that there are some reports of adulteration in petrol in rural areas of the country;
- (b)  whether  such  adulteration  in  petrol  and  diesel  is  main  cause  for  vehicle pollution in the country;
- (c)  the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  check  adulteration  in  petrol  and diesel;
- (d)  the  number  of  petrol  and  diesel  filling  stations  seized  or  sealed  for supplying adulterated fuel in the entire country, public sector oil companywise;
- (e)  the  number  of  such  sealed  filling  stations  reopened  on  COCO  basis,  Oil company/State-wise; and
- (f)  the  reasons  for  opening  new  outlets  and  reopening  seized  ones  under COCO scheme even though it is financially unviable to the oil companies?

## A N S W E R

पेोलयम और ाक ृ तक गैस मंी

( ी धम धान )

## MINISTER OF PETROLEUM & NATURAL GAS (SHRI DHARMENDRA PRADHAN)

- (a)  to  (c)    Oil  Marketing  Companies  (OMCs)  informed  that  they  have  a  system  of monitoring  and  surveillance  for  checking  adulteration.  Important  initiatives taken by OMCs in this regard include:-

(i) 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. (d)  to  (e)  The  oil  company/state-wise details of retail outlets terminated on established cases of adulteration during the period 2017-18 to Dec 2020 and operated as temporary COCO outlets, are Annexed. (f)    Expansion  of  retail  outlet  network  is  a  continuous  process  undertaken  by  Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) in tandem with the growth in demand of Petrol and  Diesel,  based  on  feasibility  study  and  commercial  considerations.  The terminated  retail  outlets  are  operated  as  temporary  COCO  retail  outlets  to

- utilize the idling valuable assets.

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Annexure

Annexure referred to in reply to parts (d) to (e) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No.  4161  asked  by  Shri  Rajeshbhai  Chudasama,  Shri  Kirti  Vardhan  Singh  for answer on 22.03.2021 regarding 'Adulteration in Petrol'

| Period from 2017-18 to Dec 2020   | IOCL                                 | IOCL                                                         | BPCL                                 | BPCL                                                         | HPCL                                 | HPCL                                                         |
|-----------------------------------|--------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------|
| States/UTs                        | No. of Retail Outlets terminated (A) | No. of outlets operated as temporary COCO outlets (out of A) | No. of Retail Outlets terminated (B) | No. of outlets operated as temporary COCO outlets (out of B) | No. of Retail Outlets terminated (C) | No. of outlets operated as temporary COCO outlets (out of C) |
| Andhra Pradesh                    | 1                                    | 0                                                            | 1                                    | 1                                                            | 1                                    | 1                                                            |
| Bihar                             | 0                                    | 0                                                            | 0                                    | 0                                                            | 1                                    | 0                                                            |
| Haryana                           | 1                                    | 0                                                            | 1                                    | 0                                                            | 1                                    | 0                                                            |
| Jharkhand                         | 0                                    | 0                                                            | 0                                    | 0                                                            | 1                                    | 1                                                            |
| Madhya Pradesh                    | 1                                    | 0                                                            | 1                                    | 0                                                            | 1                                    | 1                                                            |
| Maharashtra                       | 0                                    | 0                                                            | 1                                    | 0                                                            | 1                                    | 0                                                            |
| Odisha                            | 0                                    | 0                                                            | 0                                    | 0                                                            | 1                                    | 1                                                            |
| Punjab                            | 0                                    | 0                                                            | 0                                    | 0                                                            | 3                                    | 2                                                            |
| Rajasthan                         | 0                                    | 0                                                            | 1                                    | 1                                                            | 1                                    | 0                                                            |
| Tamilnadu                         | 0                                    | 0                                                            | 2                                    | 1                                                            | 1                                    | 1                                                            |
| Telangana                         | 0                                    | 0                                                            | 0                                    | 0                                                            | 2                                    | 0                                                            |
| Uttar Pradesh                     | 0                                    | 0                                                            | 0                                    | 0                                                            | 1                                    | 0                                                            |
| West Bengal                       | 2                                    | 0                                                            | 1                                    | 0                                                            | 0                                    | 0                                                            |
| Total                             | 5                                    | 0                                                            | 8                                    | 3                                                            | 15                                   | 7                                                            |

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