Patna High Court Issued Directions : National And State Highways Shall Have Adequate Number Of Fuel Pumps

The Patna High Court has issued directions to State and Central Government to furnish a details on the issue of non-availability of adequate number of petrol pumps on National and State Highways.

The Division Bench of Chief Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice S. Kumar was overseeing the suo-moto case for monitoring the National Highway projects in the state.

The Court caught on the fact that the 2018 onwards, no survey for assessing the demand has been conducted by any one of the oil marketing companies. Putting this on priority, it directed the oil marketing companies, including Gas Authority of India Limited to furnish fresh information as to by when the demand survey can be conducted and completed in all respect.

It also noted that that more than one thousand applications are pending consideration with the State Government/functionaries in relation to which Letters of Intent already stands issued way back in the year 2018 or immediately thereafter.

The Court thus expressed concern on the situation:

"It is unfortunate that in Bihar, the oil distribution companies have not exhibited any interest in setting up retail outlets, either on the National or the State Highways within the State of Bihar...It is rather unfortunate that even today, one finds petrol/diesel being sold in bottles, openly displayed, dangling from the wooden poles, more so, on all the National Highways, projecting a very poor and primitive picture of the State of Bihar."

Noting that the figure furnished by the oil distributing companies may be understated, the Court direct the State Heads of all the marketing companies to furnish correct information by way of their personal affidavits.