IRC guidelines are directory for State Highways, and competitors can challenge violations, but the petition was dismissed for lack of merit.

JUDGMENT

Mr. Sanjeev Prakash Sharma, J.

The petitioners, who are running a fuel station allotted to them by the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (hereinafter to be referred as 'the BHPCL"), seek to restrain opening of another fuel station in the nearby premises to be opened by respondent no.9- the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (hereinafter to be referred as 'the HPCL"), which has been allotted to respondent no. 10. Fuel station is already opened at the location: Ugala, SH-4, Shahbad Adhoya Road, District Ambala, Haryana, by the petitioner.

2. Brief facts which can be culled out from the present petition are that the HPCL issued an advertisement on 25.11.2018 for allotment of regular/ rural retail outlet dealership in various districts of Haryana including District Ambala. It has come on record that respondent no.10 had applied for the said retail outlet and was intimated on 18.07.2019 that his name having been declared as successful and was awarded dealership subject to compliance of terms and conditions issued by the HPCL in this record. Letter of Intent (LOI) was issued to respondent no.10 on 10.09.2019. As per the terms and conditions, the HPCL will develop the retail outlet at the location between villages Adhoi and Ugala on the site to be taken on lease/ purchased by the HPCL with appropriate structures, storage tanks and pumps.

3. The petitioner alleges that before setting up a retail outlet of petrol pump, the necessary permissions were required to be taken from various government departments such like Forest Department, PWD, etc. They are required to conform to the Indian Roads Congress (hereinafter to be referred as 'the IRC') guidelines in order to get NOC from the PWD. It is stated that as per IRC-12-2016 guidelines, the minimum distance between the fuel station and the intersection with rural roads/ approach roads to private and public properties should be 300 meters. The petitioners asserted that guidelines are mandatory in nature. It is alleged that their site, as located, does not conform to the IRC guidelines. It is further submitted that as per the NOC issued by respondent nos. 4 and 5, condition was imposed in the NOC itself that in case of non-compliance of IRC guidelines, NOC will be considered to have been withdrawn/ cancelled. The respondents have allegedly concealed the facts before applying for NOC. It is alleged that NOC granted by respondent nos. 4 and 5 on 27.02.2020 was issued without actually visiting the site.

4. Learned counsel for the petitioners asserted that two passages are running within a distance of 200 meters from the retail outlet. One passage is leading to Chhabra Rice Mills at an approximate distance of about 25 meters and the other passage/ Gohar is at a distance of 200 meters from the site proposed, therefore, learned counsel for the petitioners submitted that the NOC ought to be cancelled and the respondents should not be allowed to set up fuel station. However, the petitioners' counsel submits that there were instructions and guidelines issued under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, which are required to be followed for grant of permission to axe the trees on the forest land for diversion of forest land for non-forest purposes and for diversion of forest land for access to the retail outlet, which have been flouted by the respondents.

5. The permission to axe the trees on the forest land for diversion of forest land for non-forest purposes was wrongfully granted and the same is in contravention of the guidelines and instructions issued by the Forest Advisory Committee which lays down that the minimum distance between two fuel stations, on each side of the road, should not be less than 5 kilometers. The instructions further provided that if two or more fuel stations are to be constructed in close proximity or adjacent to each other, a common exit and access shall be provided but the same would not apply if no tree felling is involved. It is further submitted that earl