Government considering closing petrol pumps at 8 pm to check fuel demand: Moily

Government considering closing petrol pumps at 8 pm to check fuel demand: Moily

From the middle of this month, says oil minister M Veerappa Moily, the government plans a massive six-week fuel conservation drive that could include closing all petrol pumps by 8 pm. The BJP has scoffed at the proposal.

The government is seeking to trim its huge oil import bill as it struggles to rescue the rupee, which has tumbled alarmingly in the last few weeks, touching 68.85 to a dollar last week to register its steepest fall in 18 years. It opened at 66.15 on Monday, lower than it had closed on Friday.

Mr Moily's ministry plans to launch its austerity campaign from September 16 in an attempt to cut fuel demand by three per cent and save an estimated Rs. 16,000 crore or $2.5 billion in forex outgo.

The minister said on Sunday, "There are various options and ideas that have been floated. Shutting petrol pumps during the night is one of them. But we have not decided. It is just a proposal."

Mr Moily has written a detailed note to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with suggestions to shave off up to Rs. 1,32,000 crore of the Rs. 9,50,000 crore oil import bill of 2012-13. The note, dated August 30, does not mention closing petrol pumps at night but details a fuel conservation drive and suggests importing cheaper oil from Iran, which faces United Nations sanctions, to save Rs. 5600 crore.

Recognising how controversial the proposal on petrol pumps could be, Mr Moily emphasised, "We have not adopted it. It is not my view.

Oil Secretary Vivek Rae said there is no plan yet before the ministry to order petrol pumps in cities to remain closed from 8 pm to 8 am to curb demand for petrol and diesel, PTI reported.

State-owned oil companies, which hiked petrol by Rs. 2.35 and diesel by 50 paise per litre on Saturday, have been demanding a steeper fuel price hike to accommodate their huge losses. At current levels, the government estimates, the losses of state-owned oil companies will mount to Rs. 1,80,000 crores if imports are not cut; petrol prices will keep going up and the rupee will slide further.

Making a statement in Parliament on the rupee crisis last week, the Prime Minister said, "Clearly, we need to reduce our appetite for gold, economise the use of petroleum products and take steps to increase our exports."

The BJP's Shahnawaz Hussain said of the government's proposed austerity measure, "Not only petrol pumps, this government is capable of shutting down this country. If petrol pumps are closed at night, won't people fill fuel in the morning?

Mr Hussain has suggested that ministers should set an example by "cutting down on their expenditure and should return their cars."

(With inputs from PTI)