Indian Express 26.04.2010
BMC opposes closure of petrol pumps for commercial activities
Express news service Tags : BMC/petrol pump commercial activity case, mumbai Posted: Tuesday , Apr 27, 2010 at 0014 hrs
Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will prohibit petrol pump owners from shutting down their outlets completely for giving way to commercial establishments. Fearing a scenario where there will be very few petrol pumps left in the city, the BMC has proposed to amend its development control rules (DC rules) accordingly, which is expected to be tabled at the civic improvements committee meeting on Wednesday.BJP corporator and improvements committee chairman Manoj Kotak said since petrol pumps are rapidly getting closed in the city, the BMC intends to take action before the situation goes out of hand. “Over the past couple of years, we have been observing that owners of lands having petrol pumps pressurising the pump operators to shut their outlets down so that the land can be utilised for other commercial activities such as building a mall. If this continues, few petrol pumps will be left and vehicle owners will have to travel long distances for refuelling. This will lead to wastage of time and fuel,” said Kotak.
After the proposal is passed on Wednesday, owners will not be allowed to force petrol pump dealers to close the outlets.
The state government had last year asked the BMC to amend a section of its DC rules that prohibit owners of petrol pump land to bring about complete closure of the pump. While it is allowed to set up ATM machines, food court and other such commercial ventures on the premises of a petrol pump, completely closing it and utilising the land for setting up other commercial enterprises are prohibited.
In the past, the Bombay High Court had ruled, on a public interest litigation filed by the Mumbai Taximen’s Union, that the existing petrol pumps should not be closed down or used for constructing any commercial or residential complexes.
