New Delhi: Under attack from Anil Ambani group
but rejuvenated by Law Minister Veerappa Moily's backing, Oil
Minister Murli Deora will speak in Parliament on Monday about a
row over gas supply to the industrialist's proposed power
plant in Uttar Pradesh.
Deora's statement on gas to Dadri power project is in
response to the issue raised by Samajwadi Party members in Lok
Sabha on July 29, a day after Anil accused Oil Ministry of
colluding with elder brother Mukesh Ambani-led RIL in its
design to make super-normal profit of Rs 50,000 crore.
In his statement, Deora would inform the house about the
decision of an Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) on Anil
Ambani group firm RNRL's claim of first right over 28 million
standard cubic meters per day of gas from RIL and the policy
about fuel supply to future power projects.
The statement is understood to have been vetted at a
meeting called by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday
evening that was also attended by Moily, government counsel
Mohan Parasaran and top officials of the ministries of
petroleum and law.
Moily had hit out at Anil Ambani on Friday night, saying
it was "uncharitable" on part of some people to have accused
Deora of siding with RIL.
The SP members, led by their president Mulayam Singh
Yadav, had demanded Deora's resignation, while accusing the
Centre of stalling the 7,800-megawatt power plant, about 50 km
from the national capital.
Emerging from the meeting, Moily had said that the
government was fully backing the Petroleum Ministry in its
plea to the Supreme Court seeking delinking of natural gas
from the family agreement that split the Dhirubhai Ambani
empire between brothers Mukesh and Anil.
Moily said the government was the rightful owner of the
natural resource found in Krishna Godavari basin and was
vested with rights under the Production Sharing Contract (PSC)
to frame gas pricing and utilisation policies.
"We are not interested in any family settlement. All we
want is that the property that belongs to the people of this
country should be de-linked," Moily had said. "And whatever is
needed to protect our (government) interest, we will do."
The meeting, second in the last week, was held not to
discuss ways to "dilute government's plea in Supreme Court. On
the contrary, we are looking how can be make a stronger case
before the Supreme Court."
"Government has a bigger interest at stake as its policy
of equitable growth (has been challenged by the family MoU
dividing the gas between the two bothers). We have to protect
every inch of the government interest," he said, adding the
government's role in pricing of gas and its utilisation was
clearly spelt out and there is no ambiguity on the issue.
"There is absolutely no confusion with regard to the
right of the government to fix price of the gas and its
utilisation... we are not going to go shy away from this
responsibility. We will fully protect the government
interest," he said.
Bureau Report
First Published: Sunday, August 02, 2009, 14:40