Pump to Dump

Shveta Bhagat / TNN / Dec 17, 2005, 23:58 IST

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Despite promises of stiff action by the petroleum ministry, adulterated petrol continues to be the norm.

Ranjan Berry (name changed) knew something was wrong when his engine stalled after having travelled just a hundred kilometres. The problem, as a mechanic later discovered, was a clogged engine due to adulterated petrol.
Berry, who had just got petrol filled from a pump in Noida Phase-II, promptly launched a complaint with the food and civil supply department, Delhi government.
All complaints are routed through this department, which takes samples from petrol pumps for laboratory testing. But despite having filed his complaint a year ago, Berry is still to get a response.
Continuing To Function

Berry's case is the norm in the Capital and the NCR region. At the beginning of this year, six petrol pumps were officially blacklisted for selling adulterated petrol after an FIR was launched against them.
But as an officer from the department admits. "Of the six that we have been able to prove guilty this year, all six are still operating."
The state enforcement agency does quarterly checks on the petrol pumps in all the districts of Delhi but as the above instances show, little to no action is taken.

So, as Anumita Roy Chowdhary, Coordinator, CSE (Centre of Science and Environment) points out, there is little incentive for offenders to mend their ways. "Adulteration is good business, and everyone makes a good cut."
Paying For Inaction
This lack of action ensures the cost of adulterated petrol is being borne by the consumer. According to Lt Col JR Kochar (Retd), general secretary of the AAUI, Automobile Association of Upper India in most cases there is up to 20% less mileage.
Explains Kochar, "Though you may pay Rs 45 per litre, you actually get only Rs 36 per litre worth of mileage.
Assuming you do 1,500 kilometres per month, you will spend 20% more on running costs, which comes to Rs 13,500. So, if you are spending Rs 1,000 a month on maintenance, you end up paying Rs 1,250.
Petrol pump owners confirm that adulteration is taking place but say they are not to blame. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a pump owner puts the blame on distributors.
"Around 12,000 litres of fuel was sent from the refinery to the Bijwasan depot in Delhi. It was then filled into tank lorries and dispatched to us, but on reaching us the quantity was far less."
He adds, "Though 0.2 to 0.6% loss is normal because of evaporation loss, we found that there was over 5% loss by the time the petrol reached us."
Forced To Adulterate?
The owner claims he is forced to adulterate petrol in order to stay afloat. He even informed us about the common adulterates he uses.
Petrol can mix well with aromatics like toluene or lighter materials such as pentanese and hexanes. Diesel goes better with kerosene or light diesel oil (LDO) used as industrial fuel.
Adds Chowdhary, "Though retailers and transporters are penalised by oil companies when malpractice is detected, the companies get away scot-free. At the moment, consumers cannot sue oil companies. Because of this, adulteration cannot be checked."
Amongst the 20 retail outlets found guilty by IOC (Indian Oil Corporation) only four dealerships were terminated. The rest are still operating after completing a suspension period of 15 to 30 days.
Dr A A Gupta, chief research manager, IOC, says, "From our side, we try to ensure that the product quality is very high so it does not fail even during transit. We send the samples to the quality control board and to our R&D. Nothing is found normally."
But car companies contest Dr Gupta's claims. A senior marketing executive from General Motors claims that they have received hundreds of customer complaints about their vehicles. In most cases, adulteration was found to be the culprit.
"We lodge a complaint with the company or the petroleum ministry, but nothing is done about it." Modified guidelines have further weakened penalties against adulteration.
The earlier penalty fee of Rs 1 lakh and suspension of sales and supplies of all products for 45 days for the first offense of adulteration, was lowered in 2001 to Rs 20,000 and suspension of supplies for 30 days. Contrast this with the US.
The United States Environment Protection Agency penalty for adulteration is $27,500 per day (Rs 13.4 lakh) for every violation.
Government Response
However, the government insists it is doing all it can. Petroleum minister Mani Shankar Aiyar says, "We are taking serious steps to check and prevent adulteration."
Pramod Nangia, director, marketing (ministry of petroleum) adds, "We have stepped up surprise inspections. Unlike earlier, where the petrol pump was terminated after two instances of defaulting, now the pump loses its licence after just after one incident."
About the low fine, Nangia says the Essential Commodities Act does not allow the fine to be increased. "Termination by itself is a big enough deterrent."
Despite the petroleum ministry's claims, officials at the state level say that there has been no crackdown on adulteration.
"From last year, there has been a 50% increase in the number of complaints," said an official from the food and civil supplies department.

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