The association had challenged the bio-diesel (manufacture, storage, supply, sale) policy of the Maharashtra government.
The Bombay High Court recently refused to grant any relief to the All India Bio-Diesel Association, which was aggrieved by the Maharashtra government’s decision to formulate a biodiesel policy.
A division bench of Justice GS Patel and Justice Madhav Jamdar was hearing a petition filed by the association in January this year. He is upset with the government’s proposal to formulate a biodiesel policy for Maharashtra. The policy, ‘Bio-diesel (manufacture, storage, supply, sale)’ bans direct sale of bio-diesel to vehicles and mandates registration of all biodiesel entities.
The petition has urged the court to issue directions to the state to start the bio-diesel B-100 retail outlet pump with immediate effect or to grant interim relief for the said purpose.
The petition has also sought a direction to the state to include the members of the All India Bio-diesel Association in the state bio-diesel board as per the central government notification that every state should constitute a bio-diesel board.
It also wanted the state to exclude the Department of Petroleum Explosives Safety Organization from the bio-diesel policy as they have filed an affidavit in the court, which states, “Bio-diesel is required to be issued no objection certificate in the form of bio-diesel. not included in their rights. Not a petroleum product.”
The court dismissed the petition and said, “It is at once clear to us that all these reliefs are a matter of policy, solely and only within the approval of the State Government. Starting Bio-Diesel Retail Dispensing Outlets (Pumps)”. Whether or not, and if so, from when and on what conditions, it is entirely the right of the State Government who should be included in any bio-diesel board and who should not, and what should be the qualifications of the members of such board This is also a matter of government policy.
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