IOC panel to look into dealers' plaints

Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) will constitute a high-powered committee to look into the complaints raised by petroleum dealers that they have been receiving lesser fuel than what is being sent from Reliance Industries' Jamnagar refinery.

Public sector oil company sources said their petrol and diesel requirements for Gujarat from the Jamnagar refinery are under a `product hospitality agreement'.

Over 1,200 petrol and diesel retail outlet owners were on a three-day protest last week, contending that they have been receiving around 200 litre lesser on every 12,000 litre tanker that they receive.

According to the Gujarat Petroleum Dealer's Association (GPDA), the petrol or diesel filled into a 12,000 litre capacity tanker at the refinery is at a higher temperature and when this is offloaded at a retail outlet, it is at a much lower temperature, and hence more condensed.

"We will constitute a committee to look into the dealers' grievances on the amount of petrol and diesel. IOC has already replied the dealers regarding their other grievances, but as far as the petrol and diesel volume are concerned, the matter will have to be taken up with Reliance at Jamnagar," said R Sareen, IOC general manager, Gujarat state office, on Monday.

Sareen said the committee will visit the Jamnagar refinery to look into the dealers' complaints. "The committee will visit Jamnagar and file its report in the next fortnight. We need to verify whether there is any truth in the complaints that the dealers have been making regarding receiving lesser amount of fuel," Sareen said.

Last week officials of Reliance had said that the weights and measures standards being adopted at the Jamnagar refinery to fill tankers were of international standards and that joint teams of Reliance refinery officials and those of public sector oil companies were involved in overseeing the filling of tankers with fuel.

Besides seeking a higher commission from the petrol and diesel that they sell, dealers have also been asking oil companies to revise rates of transportation of fuel to retail pumps.

The main contention, though, remains that dealers have been receiving lesser amount of fuel than is being despatched. The average daily sale of motor spirit or petrol and high speed diesel in Gujarat is about eight crore litre with a daily revenue of about Rs 23 crore.