Having taken head-on the powerful business group Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) over the sharing and pricing of the Krishna-Godavari basin gas, the state government has now identified three issues to pursue with the Centre to resolve the crisis in AP's favour ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to the state by the month-end.
According to sources, the three issues are: one, a meeting of the energy coordination committee be held at the earliest to discuss the entire issue and its recommendations be placed before the Union cabinet. Two, an immediate policy on natural gas utilisation be framed, and three, that the Centre and the state share the profit gas 50 per cent apiece.
"It is the recommendation of the 12th finance commission that profit gas be shared between the Centre and the state (where the gas has been found) equally. We will vigorously pursue through this demand," an official said.
Another plea of the state government is a re-look into the definition of market price.
"Market price means there should be a number of buyers and sellers and that the commodity should be available in plenty. In this case, it is the monopoly of Reliance to sell the gas at the price it chooses from June 2008 of a natural resource that is scarce. As a result, market price is non-existent. At least, government monopoly is accountable to the people. Private monopoly will not be and will be dangerous to society," the official said.
The state government is also said to be upbeat over at least three decisions at the Centre which appear to have endorsed the stance of the state on the KG basin gas row. In a meeting last Saturday, the Union power ministry and fertiliser ministry in New Delhi concluded that profit petroleum should be taken by the Centre in kind and not in cash, a demand that has been repeatedly made by Andhra Pradesh.
The planning commission too is said to have endorsed the state's view that there should be an autonomous market regulator for pricing of the KG basin gas.
"Our stance is being slowly vindicated by different central government departments. We will not allow RIL to dig into the state's natural reserves and get away with it," said the official.
According to sources, the series of 20-odd letters written by chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy to the prime minister has been having its impact. "It were the tireless efforts by the state that led to the stalling of the gas agreement that was to have been signed between the centre and RIL on June 30," an official said.
Charging that several government ministries were under the grip of RIL, state government officials told TOI that it was because of that reason that they decided to directly approach prime minister Manmohan Singh.
"Thanks to the letters written by the chief minister to the prime minister, petroleum minister Murli Deora was prevailed upon not to sign the agreement with Reliance Industries Limited on June 30 by which the Mukesh Ambani group would have been sanctioned to sell the KG basin gas at $ 4.5 per million British thermal unit (mBtu)," an official said.
source : indiatimes |
