Lok Sabha Question No. 214 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-07-18
Subject: Allotment of LPG Agencies/Petrol Pumps
Ministry: PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS
Asked by: SIRAJUDDIN AJMAL

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 214 TO BE ANSWERED ON 18 TH  JULY 2016

## ALLOTMENT OF LPG AGENCIES/PETROL PUMPS

## 214. SHRI SIRAJUDDIN AJMAL:

## पेट्रोल ियम एवं प्राक ृ तिक गैस मंत्री

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

- (a)  the  norms/criteria  laid  down  by  the  Government for  allotment  of  LPG  agencies and petrol pumps in the country;
- (b) whether any kind of reservation/ quota has been prescribed in allotment of petrol pumps/gas agencies and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the Government provides/ proposes to provide any kind of reservation/quota for the minorities in the allotment of the petrol pumps/gas agencies in the country; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

पेट्रोल ियम एवं प्राक ृ तिक गैस मंत्रािय में राज्य मंत्री ( स्विंत्र प्रभार ) ( श्री धमेन्द्र प्रधान )

MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT  CHARGE)  IN THE MINISTRY OF PETROLEUM & NATURAL GAS (SHRI DHARMENDRA PRADHAN)

## (a) & (b) With regard to  LPG

Unified Guidelines for selection of LPG distributorships lay down the following norms for allotment of LPG distributorship :-

- i. Be an Indian citizen and be a resident of India.
- ii. Have  passed  minimum  Xth  standard  examination  or  equivalent  from  a recognised Board. The criterion of educational qualification is not applicable for applicant belonging to Freedom Fighter (FF) category.
- iii. Be not less than 21 years and not more than 60 years in age as on the date of advertisement.
- iv. There is no age restriction for applicants applying for locations reserved under FF category.
- v. Not be a family member of employee of OMC as on date of application.
- vi. Fulfil Multiple Dealership/Distributorship norms.
- vii. Not  be  a  signatory  to  distributorship/dealerships  agreement,  terminated  on account of proven cases of malpractices/adulteration.
- viii. Own a plot of land of minimum dimensions for construction of LPG godown or Own a ready LPG cylinder storage godown as on the last date for submission of application.

As  per  Selection  guidelines,  reservation  for  Schedule  Castes/Scheduled Tribes  (SC/ST)  is  22.5  %  and  for  Other  Backward  Classes(OBC)  is  27  %  in  the country except, States of Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Mizoram.

Detailed guidelines namely 'Unified Guidelines for Selection of LPG Distributorships' are available on the website http://www.petroleum.nic.in

## With regard to  Petrol Pumps

Norms/Criteria/Reservation Policy for allotment of Petrol Pumps (Retail Outlet) are at Annexure .

- (c) & (d) There is no such proposal under consideration of Government.

## Norms/Criteria/Reservation Policy for Dealership Selection Guidelines

Dealer Selection by draw of lots / bidding have been implemented for opening of new Retail Outlets in rural as well as urban areas. There is neither marks-based evaluation system nor interview process for selection. The selection is carried  out by a transparent system of draw  of lots/Bidding. Individuals and Non- Individuals can apply. All applicants meeting the eligibility criteria qualify for the draw/bidding.  As per the eligibility  criteria,  an  applicant  has  to  meet  the  minimum  requirements  on availability  of  suitable  land  at  the  advertised  location,  Finance,  Age  and  Educational  Qualification. However, for Corpus fund locations, Finance is not an eligibility criterion. All categories of applicants are required to have suitable piece of land in the advertised location/area either by way of ownership / long term lease.

The detailed guidelines for selection of retail outlet dealerships which have come into effect from 21-05-2014 have provision for 22.5 percent reservation for SC/STs in allotment of retail outlet dealerships. However, distribution between Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) will vary in each State depending upon the ratio of SC/ST in the State as per latest available census data.

Adhering to the broad reservation principles under the constitutional scheme 27% reservation for OBC category has been introduced. Reservation for SC/ST is 22.5% and the remaining 50.5% is for  Open  category.  Sub  categories  of  reservation  among  the  Main  categories  i.e.  SC/ST,  OBC  & Open  categories  have  been  introduced  to  take  care  of  reservation  for  Defence  personnel,  Para Military  Personnel/Central/State  Govt.  and  Central/State  PSU  employees,  Physically  Handicapped personnel, Outstanding Sports Persons and Freedom Fighters. Able bodied Ex servicemen are also made eligible under reservation for Defence personnel to enlarge the scope for Defence category.

Reservation for various categories in all the States except Arunachal Pradesh,  Meghalaya, Nagaland and Mizoram are as under :-

| Category                                                                                                                                            | SC/ST   | OBC   | Open   | Total   |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------|-------|--------|---------|
| Combined Category 1 (CC1) Comprising of :- (i) Defence Personnel & (ii) Para Military Personnel/Central/State Govt. and Central/State PSU employees | 2%      | 2%    | 4%     | 8%      |
| Combined Category 2 (CC2) Comprising of :- (i) Physically Handicapped Persons (ii) Outstanding Sports Persons (OSP) (iii) Freedom Fighters (FF)     | 1%      | 1%    | 2%     | 4%      |
| SC/ST                                                                                                                                               | 19.50%  |       |        | 19.50%  |
| OBC                                                                                                                                                 | OBC     | 24%   |        | 24%     |
| Open                                                                                                                                                | Open    |       | 44.50% | 44.50%  |

| Total   | 22.50%   | 27%   | 50.50%   | 100%   |
|---------|----------|-------|----------|--------|

Contd…

Reservations  in  some  North  Eastern  States  of    Arunachal  Pradesh,  Meghalaya,  Nagaland and Mizoram would continue to be as under as approved by MOP & NG earlier: -

| State             | Percentage of Regular & Rural RO Dealerships to be awarded to ST category   |   Balance % to be awarded to 'Open' category |
|-------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------|
| Arunachal Pradesh | 70                                                                          |                                           30 |
| Meghalaya         | 80                                                                          |                                           20 |
| Nagaland 80       |                                                                             |                                           20 |
| Mizoram           | 90                                                                          |                                           10 |

No  separate  reservation  for  Women  category  has  been  made  in  the  New  Guidelines. However, in case of individual applicants, spouse will be made a partner up to a share of maximum 50% unless the spouse is already  gainfully  employed  and/or  do  not  wish  to  be  made  a  partner  in order not to dilute the financial and social status of women.

Draw of Lots / Bidding process:

In the Draw of Lots / Bidding process, priority will be given to applicants with regard to ownership of land as mentioned below:

Group 1:  Applicants  having  suitable  piece  of  land  in  the  advertised  location/area  either  by  way  of ownership / long term lease including in all reserved categories.

Group 2:  Applicants  having  Firm  offer  of  purchase  or  long  term  lease  for  a  piece  of  suitable  land including in all reserved categories.

Draw of lots / Opening  of Bids  will  be  held  first  amongst  the  eligible  applicants  with  land  falling  in Group 1.

Draw of lots amongst eligible applicants of Group - 2 will be held only if there is no applicant in Group 1 or applicants in Group 1 have been disqualified or withdrawn.

The entire proceedings of the draw/bidding will be video graphed in one shot.

The result of the draw will be displayed on the notice board of the venue immediately and at Company office. It will also be hosted on the website of the Company.

Contd….

All  of  the  above are common for allotment of Regular and Rural category of ROs. The Parameters which are different for Regular and Rural category of ROs are as under:

| Parameter                         | Applicability                                          | Regular RO                                                              | Rural RO                                                                                                                                                           |
|-----------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Non-Refundable Application Fee    | All                                                    | Rs. 1000/- (SC/ST - Rs.500/-)                                           | Rs. 100/- (SC/ST - Rs.50/-)                                                                                                                                        |
| Advertised location               | All                                                    | In any class of market i.e. Urban / Highway                             | Except on NH / SH                                                                                                                                                  |
| Non-refundable Minimum Bid Amount | A- Site RO (except SC/ST category locations under CFS) | Rs. 30.0 Lac {Initial Down Payment (IDP) - 1.5 Lacs}                    | Rs. 10.0 Lacs {Initial Down Payment (IDP) - 0.5 Lacs}                                                                                                              |
| Non-Refundable Fixed Fee          | B- Site RO                                             | Rs. 15.0 Lacs                                                           | Rs. 5.0 Lacs                                                                                                                                                       |
| Refundable Security Deposit       | All                                                    | Rs. 5.0 Lacs                                                            | 0.5 Lacs                                                                                                                                                           |
| Nationality / Residency criteria  | All                                                    | Should be Indian Citizen and Resident of India as per Income tax rules. | Should be Indian Citizen and Resident of India as per Income tax rules. For Rural ROs the applicant has to be residing in the district of the advertised location. |

| Educational Qualifications   | All   | Minimum 10th pass (examination conducted by a Board /School) for all categories except Freedom Fighter category. Freedom fighter category will be exempted from minimum educational qualification requirement.   | Minimum 10th pass (examination conducted by a Board /School) for all categories except Freedom Fighter category. Freedom fighter category will be exempted from minimum educational qualification requirement.   |
|------------------------------|-------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|