The Election Commission (EC) has asked the three oil marketing companies (OMCs) — Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation — to stop allotment of petrol pumps for now. “We were directed by the EC not to go ahead with further allotment of fuel outlets,” said a senior OMC official.
The OMCs had planned to allot about 41 per cent of the planned 78,493 new fuel retail outlets. They approached the poll panel around mid-March, saying they wanted to give letters of intent to at least 31,800 successful bidders in April and May.
