The National Democratic Alliance on Saturday night authorised Petroleum Minister Ram Naik to take appropriate decision on hiking prices of petroleum products to reduce the widening RS 24,000 crore oil pool deficit due to unprecedented increase in the global crude prices. This was stated by ruling NDA convener George Fernandes after a meeting of its coordination comittee with Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in the chair.
Fernandes said: “The whole world knows that the prices of petroleum products needed to be hiked and there is no other alternative but to increase the prices.” Stating that hike in crude prices would result in a deficit of Rs 24,000 crore in the oil pool account, he said, “NDA constituents were of the view that there should not be extraordinary burden on the people but at the same time the burden is taken care of.”
Bureau Report