Bengaluru: Karnataka urged the Union govt to withdraw two notifications that relax verification of fuel dispensers, warning that the changes put consumers at risk of being shortchanged at the pump.In a letter dated Sept 28 to Union consumer affairs minister Pralhad Joshi, state food and civil supplies minister Rizwan Arshad sought withdrawal of the Dec 2025 notification that extends mandatory verification of petrol and diesel dispensers from once in 12 months to once in 24 months, and the May 2026 notification that lets approved private testing centres verify the machines.Arshad asked the Centre to commission a nationwide scientific study through a reputed research institute, modelled on Karnataka’s survey, before any change in periodicity is considered. He also sought a reaffirmation that verification of weights and measures will be done only by govt-appointed inspectors and suggested tightening the maximum permissible error for retail petrol and diesel dispensers to 0.3%.Karnataka has backed its plea with findings of a recent inspection survey, which Arshad described “as the first such study by any state govt”. Of 5,946 pumps whose calibration fell due, 805 were inspected, and 768 (95.4%) needed recalibration. Of those inspected, 101 were booked for dispensing beyond the permissible error, and fines of Rs 6.7 lakh were collected.Of 3,071 nozzles tested, 2,618 showed deviation from rated accuracy. The survey found that nozzles still within the limit were nearing the threshold in just 9 to 11 months. The minister said a 24-month cycle would let many dispensers cross the limit long before the next check. “Doubling this interval, without a supporting nationwide scientific study, would compound that exposure rather than mitigate it,” he wrote.On private centres, Arshad said verification is a sovereign function exercised by the state in trust for consumers and cannot be outsourced to profit-driven entities. A centre commercially engaged by the trade whose instruments it certifies cannot be expected to show the same independence, he said, pointing to a conflict of interest.“Karnataka has already decided not to implement either notification. It will continue annual verification and stamping through legal metrology officials,” he said.
