Petrol pump owners can’t cheat you anymore in Maharashtra

Maharashtra has made it mandatory for petrol pumps to file an audit report every year, starting Oct 1

To curb irregularities in the sale of fuels such as petrol and diesel, the Maharashtra government has made it mandatory for all petrol pumps to file an audit report every year, effective from October 1.

Hindustan Times

The state has further written to the petroleum ministry to make the use of tamper-proof potted pulsar (fuel vending machines that it can’t be opened or repaired) mandatory for all petrol pumps in the state, leaving no room for manipulations.

In July this year, the police raided many petrol pumps in Thane and Nagpur, and found they were cheating customers by dispensing lower quantities of fuel than ordered. This was done by tampering pulsars (fuel vending machines) with the help of imported microchips, which would manipulate display meters.

To end this cheating, the government has brought in the legal metrology department, which certifies the calibration of dispensing units of petrol pumps every year. Food, civil supplies and consumer protection minister, Girish Bapat, said the government has made the audit report mandatory on part of petrol pumps for certification from the legal metrology department.

Amitabh Gupta, senior IPS officer and controller, legal metrology, said the audit report includes inspection of all software and hardwares being used by the petrol pump for dispensing fuel. The inspection will be done in the presence of representatives from oil companies, manufacturers of dispensing units and the petrol pump dealer. “The idea is to make all of them responsible for any kind of manipulations or irregularities found in future,” Gupta said.

He said the legal metrology department has powers to withhold the certification of the dispensing unit until the conditions imposed by the government are fulfilled. In such a case, the petrol pump will not be able to function for that many days.

Bapat also wrote a letter to union petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan, requesting him to issue directives to petrol pump dealers for using tamper-proof potted pulsar. “The tamper-proof potted pulsar has been built in such manner that it can’t be opened. In case it is damaged, it cannot be repaired, leaving no room for tampering at any level,” Gupta explained. He said the government doesn’t want petrol pumps to replace existing pulsars immediately. “We have asked them to replace them with tamper-proof potted pulsar only when the existing pulsar is damaged,” Gupta added.