NEW DELHI: Anyone wanting to own a petrol pump will soon be able to do so at a place of his choice without having to be particularly lucky in a long-drawn system or being born in backward caste.The government is considering a proposal to offer state-run fuel retailers the freedom to allocate dealership to anybody willing, a move that has the potential to revolutionise the sector, curb malpractices, and most importantly arm state companies against the emerging competition from private rivals such as Reliance Industries and Essar Oil that have resumed expansion following a deregulation of fuel sales, government and industry sources said.Government officials will meet executives of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL) this week to work out the details of the plan, they said.As per the proposal, anyone wanting a dealership can apply at any point in time and be awarded one quickly as long as he makes the entire investment involved in setting up a filling station.“We will no more have one hand tied behind our back while fighting the private competition,” a senior executive at a state-run fuel retailer said.At present, state firms are saddled with norms requiring appointment of about half of dealers from backward class, restriction of dealership to just a member in the family, follow the arduous appointment process and also cater to political interests.The memory of a decade back is still fresh in the minds of state-run firms when private players snatched nearly 15% share in the sale of diesel within years of their entry, mostly due to extensive use of technology, enhanced level of service and total control over dealers. This is why they are lobbying the government to give them a free hand to fight private competition.“We have had little control over distributors. We have always had the dilemma that if we were to fire a dealer we may lose the market to a competitor and not be able to recover that quickly because the appointment of a replacement would take a long time,” said the executive.He was referring to the challenges state firms have faced in firing distributors engaged in malpractices, which lower the quality of service to customers. But a flexibility to appoint a new dealer will remove this dilemma, he said.Moreover, the government has mandated a 10% automation every year at IOC, HPCL, and BPCL, which currently have about a third of their regular petrol pumps automated. This technological application helps companies keep a check on adulteration at fuel stations.The proposed system will also help state firms attract most entrepreneurs interested in the petrol pump business, leaving fewer candidates for the likes of Reliance or Shell. Until now, the private players could easily offer their dealership to those who had lost out in the race to win a public sector petrol pump.“There is still an inclination for public sector pumps. Also, the private players can’t match the security of supply we provide because of our nationwide infrastructure,” the executive said.A government official said the move will also enhance state firms’ presence across markets, a “brand boost”, and help find dealers easily.Soaring land prices in cities and falling average volumes at filling stations due to proliferation of pumps have made appointing dealers a difficult exercise.To appoint a dealer, state oil companies survey markets to identify locations for new filling stations, then seek applications from eligible candidates meeting government guidelines and then pick one either through a draw of lots or by an open bidding process. In most cases, the cost of setting up petrol pumps is shared between companies and dealers.Until a few years ago, the appointment process also included interview of candidates, making the process prone to influence and corruption.India has about 53,000 petrol pumps with 95% of them under the control of state firms.A scrapping of subsidy on diesel late last year and petrol in 2010 — the volume of diesel sold is about thrice that of petrol — has renewed interests among private fuel retailers that were shut out of the market after the government brought back regulation in 2008.Afear that the subsidy may snap back again if crude oil prices were to shoot up has checked faster expansion at private retailers. But the Chinese slowdown, Iran’s nuclear deal and the unwillingness of West Asian oil producers to cut output has boosted conviction that oil prices will not go up in a hurry. This is being read as a signal that private retailer may press the accelerator now.It would be a welcome move if oil retail were to be truly opened up, removing the restrictive condition that an entity must have invested at least Rs 2,000 crore in the petroleum sector to qualify as a fuel retailer. To compete with the incumbent oil majors, a new retailer would need economies of scale, to purchase fuel in bulk at the refinery gate price. Players in the organised retail industry, including mall operators, qualify as ideal candidates and should be encouraged to enter this area.