Jaipur: Rajasthan govt has decided to set up fuel stations at 47 sites in state-funded universities and colleges to facilitate the sale of petrol and diesel produced at the HPCL Rajasthan Refinery Ltd (HRRL) in Pachpadra, a joint venture between state govt and HPCL, having 26% and 74% stake, respectively.As part of the state’s commitment to help the refinery in the initial stages, the petroleum department wrote a letter on July 7 to the higher education department over the proposal to open fuel station on July 7. TOI has a copy of the letter.In the letter to the additional chief secretary of higher and technical education, petroleum department director Awdhesh Singh said, “To maximise sales within the state of the 4 million metric tonnes of diesel and 1 million metric tonnes of petrol produced annually by HRRL, 47 govt land sites belonging to various colleges, ITIs, polytechnics and universities under the Department of Higher and Technical Education have been identified.”The letter says instructions should be issued to the district-level officials concerned to “provide full cooperation and necessary information to the HPCL representatives for the purpose of assessing the suitability and feasibility of the identified sites for setting up retail outlets.”According to the order, three sites belonging to Rajasthan University in Jaipur will be used for fuel stations. These are proposed to be opened on Shanti Path Talvandi, Jaipur, on Mahatma Gandhi Road and on JLN Marg Talvandi in Jaipur.However, Rajasthan University V-C Prof Alpana Kateja told TOI she is unaware of the development. “There have been no discussions with the university administration on this matter yet, and we are not aware of this decision,” she said.A senior representative of Rajasthan Petroleum Dealers Association said that out of the identified locations, there are many areas that are saturated with fuel stations. “They should have looked at demand pockets along the state and national highways,” he said.He also said that fuel stations carry the threat of vitiating academic atmosphere of the education institutions.Former public relations officer of Rajasthan University, Bhupendra Singh Shekhawat, said, “The state govt has been asking universities to become financially self-sufficient, as these institutions are not able to bear the cost of pension and retirement benefit of several employees across the state. If such commercial activities take place within campuses, then it can help generate revenue for the educational institutes.”However, the govt is yet to spell out details on how the institutions stand to benefit financially.
