RTI exposes persistent fuel station fraud in Telangana despite crores in penalties
HYDERABAD: RTI responses from Telangana’s Legal Metrology Departments in Hyderabad, Nizamabad, and Nalgonda show a persistent pattern of fraud at petrol and fuel stations. Every year, officials register thousands of cases for short-changing customers and overcharging at outlets run by Bharat Petroleum, Indian Oil, Hindustan Petroleum, Reliance, as well as at malls and theaters. Despite these cases and crores of rupees collected in compounding fees, the fraud continues across the state.
Hyderabad-based RTI activist Robin Vinay Kumar Zaccheus filed the applications. Assistant Controllers of Legal Metrology in Nalgonda, Nizamabad, and Hyderabad responded between July and August 2025.
In particular, the Nalgonda zone reported some of the highest numbers. Short-weight cases rose from 110 in 2020-21 to 285 in 2024-25, a 159 percent increase in four years. Excess pricing cases also increased, from 75 in 2020-21 to 161 in 2022-23 and 2024-25.
Over five years, Nalgonda zone alone registered 1,145 short-weighment cases and 674 excess-weighment cases. In 2024-25, officials in Nalgonda conducted a record 2,362 inspections, the highest in six years. Further in the same year they registered 1,415 cases and collected Rs 97.23 lakh in compounding fees. However, the number of fraud cases at fuel stations has not gone down. Between 2020-21 and 2023-24, Nalgonda officials collected over Rs 4.33 crore in compounding fees. Annual collections rose from Rs 43.98 lakh in 2020-21 to Rs 1.06 crore in 2023-24.
Meanwhile, Nizamabad zone saw even more enforcement. Inspections rose from 12,468 in 2020-21 to 42,569 in 2024-25, a more than threefold increase. In six years, officials completed more than 1.16 lakh inspections. Registered cases ranged from 1,021 in 2020-21 to a high of 1,728 in 2021-22. In 2023-24 alone, compounding fees crossed Rs 1.10 crore. Over five years, total collections topped Rs 4.53 crore. Short-weight at various outlets occurred every year, from 27 in 2020-21 to 28 in 2024-25.Further excess pricing cases at various outlets occurred every year, from 101 in 2020-21 to 45 in 2024-25
Nizamabad officials said they resolved all 143 grievances about excess pricing and short weighment in the year they received them, between 2020-21 and 2024-25. Still, the steady stream of new cases every year raises questions about whether these fixes are making any long-term difference.
In contrast, Hyderabad City Zone saw a sharp increase in inspections, jumping from 2,750 in 2022-23 to 13,860 in 2024-25. This may signal a stronger enforcement drive or a wider coverage area. Earlier, inspections dropped from 11,388 in 2020-21 to 2,750 in 2022-23, which raises questions about the dip in activity that year.
Cases in Hyderabad ranged from 1,007 in 2021-22 to 2,063 in 2020-21. Compounding fees peaked at Rs 1.26 crore in 2023-24 and Rs 1.27 crore in 2024-25. Additionally, officials recorded excess pricing cases at outlets every year, from 8 in 2020-21 to 12 in 2024-25. Short-weight cases were fewer, with only 2 reported in 2023-24. Hyderabad’s grievance resolution was less consistent. In 2020-21, officials resolved 92 out of 115 complaints. In 2023-24, they resolved 52 of 65. Between April and June 2025, only 20 of 35 complaints were resolved, hinting at a growing backlog.
Overall, RTI data from the three zones shows that enforcement is active. Officials conduct hundreds of inspections, register thousands of cases, and collect crores in fees. Yet, fraud at fuel stations has not declined over the past five years.
RTI activist Robin Vinay Kumar Zaccheus, who filed the applications, called the findings proof of a broken system. “Thousands of consumers are being cheated every day while the department collects crores in fees. Yet the frauds continue,” he said. He urged the Telangana government to act.
He wants the government to launch surprise raids statewide, install tamper-proof digital weighing systems with live public display, publish monthly fraud reports, cancel licenses of repeat offenders, and file criminal cases against habitual violators.
