New Delhi, Nov 29: Barely 72 hours after the Centre announced a pre-election bonanza of distributing an astounding 55,649 new petrol pumps in the country, the apex body of petrol dealers began to oppose the decision.

The apex body of the dealers has questioned the legal validity of the decision, saying that the move to increase the number of fuel retail outlets is contrary to the government's own policy, IANS reported citing a top official on Wednesday.

They plan to challenge the move in court, a top office-bearer said on Wednesday, November 28.

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Indian Oil Corp (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) on Sunday issued advertisements for setting up 55,649 petrol pumps across the country.

As of now, India currently has 63,674 petrol pumps, most of them with public sector firms. Nayara Energy Ltd, formerly Essar Oil Ltd, has the highest number of outlets in the private sector at 4,895 while Reliance Industries has 1,400 pumps. Royal Dutch/Shell has 116 outlets.