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CPI sees scam in gas pricing
CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta on Tuesday sensed a scam in the Congress-led UPA Government decision on gas pricing policy. Gurudas Dasupta has alleged that the Government gas pricing decision was aimed at benefitting Reliance to reap fabulous profit, while producing natural gas, a national asset at KG 6 Basin off the coast of Andhra Pradesh. It has resulted in a loss of Rs 1,13,000 crore, claimed Guru Das Dagupta.
- Alleges govt tried to benefit Reliance Industries
- RIL showed output fall after price hike plea rejected
- Later this year govt raised the gas price
- Undue favour caused Rs 1.13 lakh crore
Venkat Parsa
New Delhi: CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta on Tuesday sensed a scam in the Congress-led UPA Government decision on gas pricing policy. Gurudas Dasupta has alleged that the Government gas pricing decision was aimed at benefitting Reliance to reap fabulous profit, while producing natural gas, a national asset at KG 6 Basin off the coast of Andhra Pradesh. It has resulted in a loss of Rs 1,13,000 crore, claimed Guru Das Dagupta.
The booklet, “Biggest Scam of UPA-II: Hefty Price Increase of Natural Gas to Benefit Reliance,” authored by CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta, which was released on Tuesday, stated, “The price of natural gas, so valuable for the production of power and fertilizer, to speak the least, has been permitted to be raised from $ 4.2 per MMBTU to $ 8.4 per unit to be effective from April next year.”
The Vajpayee Government in 1999 designed the New Exploration and Licensing Policy (NELP), thereby opening the oil sector to all players, including foreign companies. The KG-D6 block was awarded to Reliance under NELP 1 bidding round in 2000. Production started in 2009 and the price was fixed at $ 4.2 per MMBTU for five years. The production was as per target only for one year. As early as in June 2010, Reliance made a request for increase in gas prices. This was rejected by the Petroleum Ministry in August 2010 and with immediate effect, gas production declined from September 2010. “This coincidence of rejection of their first request to increase prices and almost immediate start of declining production, raised suspicions that the fall was deliberate,” Gurudas Dasgupta said.
In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Gurudas Dasgupta accused Petroleum Minister M Veerappa Moily of removing a senior Petroleum Ministry official from his charge gas pricing for standing upto him and taking tough stance against RIL. Gurudas Dasgupta alleged that Moily decided to get rid of bureaucrats, who stood up to him.
Further, entrusting this work to an officer, who has been recently promoted as Joint Secretary by the present Petroleum Minister, will ensure that the new officer shall only carry out the dictates of the Minister, claimed Dasgupta. Moily has decided to get rid of inconvenient bureaucrats, who are standing up to him. By this order, the mala-fide of the Petroleum Minister is completely established, he said.
