If you have ever felt cheated at a petrol bunk, here is some good news for you: the State government authorities have stepped up action against malpractices involving undersupply of fuel. Between April to September this year, delivery of fuel from 100 petrol and 75 diesel nozzles have been suspended across Tamil Nadu.
The office of the Controller of Legal Metrology, which is attached to the Labour Department, is the designated authority to check the accuracy of the quantity of fuel dispensed at the retail outlets.
“In the event of a nozzle found not delivering the right quantity of fuel, the sale from the dispensing unit would be suspended. Only after the nozzle is set right, we give clearance for the sale to be resumed,” said N.V.Geeta, Inspector of Labour-Second Circle and Deputy Controller of Legal Metrology. While first-time offenders are slapped with a fine of Rs.1,000, repeat offenders face prosecution in court, according to officials.
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The officials were present at a media interaction organised by the Consumers Association of India here on Tuesday to highlight the rights of consumers at a petrol bunk. Guidelines on ‘How not to be cheated at the petrol pump' which were prepared by P.A.Krishnamoorthy, former director of Metrology, Government of India, were shared with the participants.
CAI's trustee R. Desikan maintained that even the modern dispensing units fitted with electronic meters can be tampered with. “People believe electronic meters are tamper-proof. This is a myth,” he said. He urged consumers to use the five-litre calibrated can that is available at every petrol bunk to verify if the pump is dispensing the accurate amount.
K.Veerappan, Assistant Commissioner of Labour-1 and Deputy Controller of Legal Metrology-1, however, said the chances of tampering with electronic meters were minimal. “The nozzles could be undersupplying due to mechanical wear and tear,” he said, stating no conscious efforts at tampering was taking place. “Consumers should take a bold stance and demand their rights if they believe they are being short-changed,” he added.
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However, consumer activists are unhappy that even in electronic meters, the authorities have raised the acceptable deviation level from 15 ml to 25 ml while checking for inaccuracies. “When electronic meters are expected to be accurate, what is the need to raise this?” said G.Rajan, secretary general, CAI.
“Ideally, five litres of fuel should be dispensed in 30 seconds. If consumers are aware of this, and if the process is faster or slower, they can identify a problem,” he added.