Industry sources said managers of all petrol pumps have been asked to “co-operate” to ensure the new flex hoardings are in place by Wednesday evening. The message also asked managers to report to respective field officers in case hoarding vendors engaged by oil companies do not report at their retail outlets.
Sources said the move is being undertaken on an informal “nudge” from the oil ministry and will cost the three main public sector fuel retailers – IndianOil, Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum – several hundred crores. These companies own or operate 90% of about 88,000 petrol pumps in the country.
Typically, each pump has at least one hoarding of 40×20 size. Larger outlets often have two such displays, while pumps operating on smaller plots have smaller displays. The sources said the oil companies pay Rs 12 per square foot as printing charge.
However, these hoarding may have to be pulled down once Lok Sabha elections are announced and the model code of conduct comes into force. In March 2021, ahead of the assembly elections in West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, EC had, acting on a complaint from Trinamool Congress, asked petrol pumps to remove all hoardings carrying PM Modi’s picture.