ESMA may be invoked if fuel pumps are shut

The threat by petroleum dealers to shut down pumps on Sundays will be dealt with according to measures necessary to maintain supplies of essential commodities, the Centre said on Wednesday.

"We have just now been made aware of this decision by the petroleum dealers through media reports," a senior Petroleum Ministry source said when queried about the dealers' decision to shut fuel pumps every Sunday starting 14 May to protest the public sector oil companies' failure to hike dealer margins.

The decision will cover Haryana, Maharashtra and the entire southern region — Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, as well as Puducherry.

"We have to wait and see how this measure has an impact on the ground... because petroleum products are classed as essential commodities and the Essential Commodities Act (ECA) can be applied depending on the circumstances," the source said.

Dealers' body representatives told the media on Tuesday that their decision was in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent call to save petrol and diesel.

Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who was in Jaipur on Tuesday to witness the signing of an MoU for the construction of a refinery in Rajasthan by state-run Hindustan Petroleum, is expected to assess the possible fallout of the dealers' decision here on Wednesday.