OIL COMPANIES GIVEN AUTONOMY TO APPOINT DEALERS
As a part of deregulation exercise in oil sector,
the Government has now decided to grant autonomy to public sector
oil companies in the selection of dealers/distributors. This follows
the dismantling of Administered Pricing Mechanism (APM) w.e.f.
1.4.2002 which aimed at benefiting consumers by fostering competition
and the introduction of Petroleum Regulatory Board Bill in the
Lok Sabha on 6.5.2002 to promote healthy competition and maintain
uninterrupted supply of petroleum products in all parts of the
country. The Dealer Selection Boards (DSBs) are being dissolved
from the afternoon today i.e. 9.5.2002. Announcing this in the
Lok Sabha today, Shri Ram Naik, Minister of Petroleum and Natural
Gas while replying to a question on allotment of LPG dealership,
informed that the Oil Marketing Companies will conduct the selection
of dealers/distributors for which advertisements have been issued
but interviews are not held so far. Replying to a supplementary,
Shri Ram Naik informed that as a result of impetus given to expand
use of LPG in households, the total number of LPG connections
has reached 6.35 crore as of now which includes 5.82 crore in
urban areas and 53 lakhs in rural areas. This covers about 31
per cent of total population of the country. A quantum jump in
LPG connections was made with the release of as many as 2.58 crore
in the last three years alone. The network of LPG distributorships
has a total strength of 7486 distributors in the country today,
of which 1729 new distributors were appointed during the last
two years. Shri Naik also informed that the Government is paying
emphasis on expanding LPG service network to rural areas. Accordingly,
it has been decided to open at least one LPG distributorship at
each Block Headquarter or a town with a population of 10,000 or
more.
