Piyush Goyal: Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has directed PESO (Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation) to formulate a template of safety measures to allow petrol pumps to operate in areas with habitation within 30-50 metres.


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Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO), a subordinate office under DPIIT, plays a pivotal role in administering regulatory frameworks established under the Explosives Act, 1884 and Petroleum Act, 1934.


The minister also announced 80% concession for women entrepreneurs and 50% for MSMEs in licensing fees for licences granted by PESO. On Wednesday, Goyal had chaired a stakeholder consultation meeting to solicit insights and feedback from petroleum, explosives, fireworks and other related industry leaders, aimed at enhancing efficiency in the functioning of PESO.


"He (Goyal) directed PESO to formulate guidelines in consultation with the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) 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 commerce and industry ministry said in a statement on Thursday.


The minister said that QR code for cylinders is incorporated in the draft Gas Cylinders Rules (GCR) and final notification will be out soon. 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.


Petrol pump licences are issued in Form XIV of Petroleum Rules 2002 whereas Licence for CNG dispensing facilities within petroleum retail outlets are issued in Form G of Gas Cylinders Rules. As both the licences are under different Rules and Acts, amendments in the licence in Form XIV are also required to be done after granting of licence for CNG facilities in the same petrol pump.


This amendment will be dispensed with by required changes in the modules. This will reduce the compliance burden as well as the workload of PESO, the ministry said. In response to the suggestions given and issues raised by the industry during the consultation, Goyal directed MoPNG and the industry associations concerned to form committees to carve out details of suggestions made by them.


The consultation brought together over 150 stakeholders representing various industries of the petroleum, explosives and other related industrial sectors from across the country.