New Delhi: NTPC Ltd has not yet decided on
filing a petition in Supreme Court on its dispute with
Reliance Industries Ltd for sourcing of natural gas, Power
Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said on Wednesday.
The state-run firm has been contemplating moving the apex
court after RIL amended its petition in the Bombay High Court
to say that it cannot sell gas to NTPC at the price it had
bid in the 2004 tender due to Government stand on the issue.
"That is not yet decided, I think so," he told to a television channel when asked if NTPC was leaning towards filing a Special Leave
Petition in the Supreme Court on this issue.
NTPC had in December 2005 dragged RIL to the Bombay High
Court seeking specific performance of the tender bid to sell
12 million standard cubic meters per day of gas at USD 2.34
per million British thermal unit to its Kawas and Gandhar
expansion projects.
"My corporation is capable to take a decision (on the
issue)... it is the board of directors (of NTPC) will take
decision on this account," he said.
Shinde said the Power Ministry did not want to get
involved in the bigger dispute over the right of the
government to approve the price at which RIL can sell gas to
consumers and decide on the gas utilisation policy.
"We do not want to come in the big dispute... we are
concerned with only the NTPC problem," he said.
Shinde said gas from KG-D6 fields of RIL will not be used
at NTPC's Kawas and Gandhar expansion projects till the
dispute is settled in the court.
NTPC had yesterday informed the Bombay Stock Exchange
that it was consulting lawyers to approach the "relevant"
forum on the issue of procuring gas from Mukesh Ambani-led
RIL.
The Power Minister had stated yesterday that his ministry
was ready to advise NTPC on its legal battle with RIL if it
was to approach them.
Bureau Report
First Published: Wednesday, August 19, 2009, 13:04