Commerce minister Piyush Goyal has asked Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) to formulate guidelines, in consultation with the ministry of petroleum and natural gas, for creating a template of safety measures, allowing retail outlets of petrol pumps to function in cases where there is habitation within 30-50 metres.
The existing rules do not allow fuel stations to come up within 50 metres of a habitation, including schools, hospitals and residential areas. The direction from the minister came at the stakeholder consultation on Wednesday to solicit insights and feedback from petroleum, explosives, fireworks and other related industry leaders, aimed at enhancing efficiency in the functioning of PESO.
At the meeting, Goyal announced 80% concession for women entrepreneurs and 50% for MSMEs in fees for licences granted by PESO. He also directed that a committee will be formed to study if a licence for explosives, transport and manufacturing can be given for ten years; a committee will examine the issue regarding increasing the validity of licence to 10 years as all licences, except for explosives, are given for a duration of ten years.
To further streamline processes, the minister directed that efforts must be made to involve Third Party Inspection Agencies (TPIAs) in more areas.
The consultation brought together over 150 stakeholders representing various industries of the petroleum, explosives and other related industrial sectors from across the country. During the meeting, industry associations like Federation of Agrivalue Chain Manufacturers and Exporters (FAME), Explosives Manufacturers Welfare Association (EMWA), Indian Ammonium Nitrate Manufacturers Association (IANMA) and All India Industrial Gas Manufacturers Association (AIIGMA) highlighted critical areas for regulatory improvement and operational enhancement to streamline procedures and enhance ease of doing business.