Lok Satta Party President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan today characterized Union Petroleum Minister S. Jaipal Reddy’s defence of gas allocation to Ratnagiri power plant at the expense of Andhra Pradesh as bureaucratic.
Addressing a media conference here, Dr.Narayan recalled that the Union Cabinet committee had decided in 2008 to allocate the available gas to fertilizer plants, domestic users and power plants in that order of priority. The committee, however, placed the Ratnagiri power plant on par with fertilizer plants for gas allocation.
The gas production from Reliance’s D 6 block of the Krishna-Godavari basin (KG basin) at that time was 80 MMSCMD and was expected to go up to 120 MMSCMD by now. Instead, the availability has plunged to 29 MMSCMD now.
Sticking to the biased 2008 decision in 2012 when there has been a steep shortfall in gas production is unwarranted, LSP President said as Union Petroleum Minister, Mr. Jaipal Reddy ought to have brought the changed circumstances to the notice of the Union Cabinet and ensured that no injustice was rendered to Andhra Pradesh in the process.
He appealed to all political parties to transcend differences and fight for justice in gas allocation.
To a question, he said Team Anna Hazare’s plans to float a political party cannot be faulted as most political parties have lost peoples’ confidence. UNI