New Delhi
The decision by the oil marketing companies (OMCs) to rationalise inter-State freight will aid in reducing the prices of diesel and petrol in several parts of the country, Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Tuesday.
The Minister also welcomed the decision by the OMCs to enhance dealer commission, a move he feels will ultimately lead to better services for consumers at petrol pumps.
However, the decision in poll-bound States and constituencies will be implemented later.
“I welcome the announcement by OMCs to increase the Dealer Commission payable to petrol pump dealers and the decision to undertake intra-State freight rationalisation to benefit consumers located at remote locations (far from Petrol and Diesel depots of OMCs) which will result in a decrease in petrol & diesel prices in several parts of the country,” Puri said on X (formerly Twitter).
The development is in line with the government’s aim to bring even far-flung areas on par with the rest of the country in terms of facilities to our citizens, such as the North East Region which has been connected with ‘world-class road, air and rail infrastructure.
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Citing examples of freight rationalisation, Puri said “In Kunanpally & Kalimela in Odisha’s Malkangiri petrol price will reduce by ₹4.69 & ₹4.55; and Diesel price will reduce by ₹4.45 & ₹4.32, respectively.
Similarly, prices will reduce by ₹2.09 in petrol price and ₹2.02 in diesel price in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma.
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State-run Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL) said that it has undertaken intra-State rationalisation of freight which will reduce variation of retail selling price of oil products across various markets within a State, except in geographies where the Model Code of Conduct is in place.
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The revision in the dealer margins is effective October 30, 2024 and follows the resolution of a pending litigation.
This will have no additional impact on the Retail Selling Price of products, the country’s largest OMC added.
The dealer commission increase will provide better services to about 7 crore citizens who visit fuel retail outlets in the country everyday, without increasing fuel prices, the Minister noted.
The fulfilment of this demand pending for the last 7 years will benefit petrol pump dealers and nearly 10 lakh staff working at more than 83,000 petrol pumps across the country, he added.
“The way for these historic decisions was paved by... decisions taken by the... government and all the Petrol Dealers Associations who came together in our meetings during last few months and agreed to withdraw all the pending court cases pertaining to issues related to Marketing Discipline Guidelines (MDGs),” the Minister noted.
In May, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the state-run OMCs reduced prices of petrol and diesel by ₹2 about per litre.
