RIL’S OFFICE UNDER SIEGE

Angry Reliance petrol pump owners who have been outpriced by public sector petroleum companies lay siege to RIL’s Paldi office, demanding the company return the money they have invested

Around 100 petrol pump dealers barged into Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) office at Vraj building near Parimal crossing around 2 pm on Wednesday, demanding refund of their investments.

Claiming losses worth millions of rupees over the past four years because of the company’s decision to shut many of its retail fuel outlets in view of the variation between its prices and those of government-owned companies, the dealers were at the RIL office till late Wednesday night.

They did not budge despite attempts by the police, and threatened to stage a dharna right inside the RIL office with their families if they were not refunded by Thursday afternoon. The problem is, RIL fuel prices are around Rs 3 to 5 more per litre compared to government fuel companies.

This obviously means consumers prefer government-run fuel stations to RIL fuel stations, resulting in huge losses for Reliance petrol pump dealers. There are 106 Reliance petrol pumps in the state, of which only around 20 are operational. Even they are surviving on a wing and a prayer, incurring huge losses daily.

Said Gujarat Reliance Petrol Pump Dealers Association (GRPPD) chief Sunil Golwala, “We dealers invested around Rs 2 crore each and we are getting nothing out of it. The company is refusing to bring down its fuel prices, ensuring we are doomed. We are asking them to refund our investment. If Reliance itself wants to run the petrol pumps, they should pay us the market rent.”



The dispute between Reliance and its petrol pump dealers is nothing new. Said Golwala, “Two months ago, RIL group president Parimal Nathwani had assured us of a solution. Nothing has come out of it.

We will intensify our agitation as we have no option left.”
 
An RIL spokesperson told Ahmedabad Mirror, “Dealers must understand our problem. Unlike government petrol pumps, we don’t get subsidies.

We are talking to the government. How can we resolve the dealers’ problems when the talks are still on? Yet, we are trying our best to help them.”