The Bombay High Court recently refused to grant any relief to the All India Bio-diesel Association, aggrieved by the decision of the Maharashtra Government to frame a biodiesel policy.
A division bench of justices G. S. Patel and Madhav Jamdar was hearing a petition filed by the Association in January this year. It is aggrieved by the government resolution of framing a biodiesel policy for Maharashtra. The policy, ‘Bio-diesel (manufacturing, storage, supply, selling)’ bans direct sale of bio diesel to vehicles and mandates registration of all biodiesel entities.
The plea has urged the court to issue directions to the State to start Bio-diesel B-100 retail outlet pumps with immediate effect or to grant interim relief for the said purpose.
The petition has also sought directions to the State to include All India Bio-Diesel Association members in the State Bio-Diesel Board as per the notification of the Central Government that every State should form a Bio-diesel board.
It also wanted the State to exclude the Petroleum Explosive Safety Organisation Department from the Bio-Diesel policy because they have filed an affidavit in court stating, “Bio-diesel is not included in their authority to issue a no-objection certificate as Bio-diesel is not a petroleum product.”
The court rejected the plea and said, “It is once apparent to us that all of these reliefs is a matter of policy, squarely and only within the remit of the State Government. Whether or not to start bio-diesel retail dispensing outlets (pumps), and, if so, from when and on what terms is solely the preserve of the State Government. Whom to include and not include on any Bio-diesel board, and what qualifications such board members must have, is also a matter of government policy.”
