FICO Met Union Minister & Opposes New Diesel Procurement Restrictions, Seeks PNG Connectivity for Industrial Areas Ludhiana
A delegation of the Federation of Industrial & Commercial Organization (FICO) under the leadership of and K.K. Seth, Chairman, FICO and Gurmeet Singh Kular, President, FICO, met Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India, and submitted a memorandum expressing strong concern over the recently notified Motor Spirit and High Speed Diesel (Temporary Regulation of Supply through Retail Outlets) Order, 2026.
City Air News
Jun 13, 2026 01:21
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Ludhiana, June 13, 2026: A delegation of the Federation of Industrial & Commercial Organization (FICO) under the leadership of and K.K. Seth, Chairman, FICO and Gurmeet Singh Kular, President, FICO, met Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India, and submitted a memorandum expressing strong concern over the recently notified Motor Spirit and High Speed Diesel (Temporary Regulation of Supply through Retail Outlets) Order, 2026.
The delegation apprised the Union Minister that the restriction on industrial and commercial consumers from procuring diesel through retail outlets and the limit of 200 litres per vehicle per day would severely impact industrial operations, particularly MSMEs. Most industries rely on retail fuel stations for their daily diesel requirements as they do not possess their own consumer pumps or fuel storage infrastructure.
The delegation further highlighted that Ludhiana is one of the largest industrial hubs in North India, housing leading manufacturers of bicycles, textiles, hosiery, machine tools, fasteners, auto parts, agricultural machinery, tyres, hand tools, sewing machines, and plywood. While industries are willing to adopt cleaner fuels and support environmental initiatives, major industrial areas and focal points of Ludhiana continue to remain deprived of Piped Natural Gas (PNG) connectivity despite gas pipelines being available up to Doraha.
FICO urged the Government to reconsider the notification, withdraw the restrictions imposed on industries, and expedite PNG connectivity to all industrial areas before implementing any limitations on diesel procurement.
Among those present were Rajeev Jain, Senior Vice President, FICO; Satnam Singh Makkar, Propaganda Secretary, FICO; Mankar Garg, Head, Plastic Division, FICO; Barinder Bawa, Executive Member, FICO; Gurmukh Singh Rupal, Head, Sewing Machine Division, FICO; and Tarsem Lal Thaper, Head, Malerkotla Division, FICO.
