Swaminathan Aiyar says that the prevailing gas price in the US is $3.70, much lower than what the government and Mukesh Ambani mandated price of $4.20 is. Strange? Begs the question - who is profiteering? In June 2008, Swami writes in the Times of India that the price of gas in the US was $13. One also needs to add that $4.20 excludes the transportation cost and other levies. Remember that the gas has to be brought onshore first before pipelines take it wherever...
Another top editor writing on the same page in ToI has torn into Murli Deora, sorry gaswale uncle. Quoting from extracts of the infamous Polyester Prince written by Hamish McDonald, M J Akbar has traced the genesis of Deora's relationship with the Dhirubhai Ambani. But he adds, "The past cannot be held against Deora's present." In an age where the price spiral of essential commodities continues unabated, Akbar makes a telling point, "This must be the first government that is determined on raising the price of a national asset that is in the private possession of Mukesh Ambani, rather than bringing it down, or indeed keeping it at a level that a private company offered and accepted as as part of a contractual agreement."
On Friday rising prices, Sharad Pawar claimed were due to the ever increasing cost of energy. Curious. One central minister wants to raise the price of energy - in this case gas - while another says that the price of energy is responsible for the price spike. Government working at odds, no? And whose interests does this gas price rise serve? Obviously Murli Deora's master Mukesh Ambani's. He pockets the money, not the government. The finance and power ministers are keeping quiet. Finance doesn't want to have anything to do with this unsavoury controversy because he wants to remain neutral while Power (under whom NTPC comes) remains powerless in this dispute. Akbar tells it like it is - Patriotism has clearly become the last refuge of Murli Deora.
Even at today's prevalent gas price of $3.70 in the US, Mukesh Ambani and mind you not the government is making a large profit. Fifty cents is the margin even at today's price of gas. Makes one wonder how the government or was it the oil ministry fixed $4.20 as the price of gas. Conventional economic logic be damned. People must pay more for their own national asset because Mukesh Ambani has to profit.
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4 comments:
M.J. Akbar has performed a great service in his article by revealing the close links of the Petroleum Minister with the Ambanis.
After such knowledge, what forgiveness? Now that his Ambani connection has been established, Deora’s statements evoking “national interest” have a sadly hollow ring to them. It is equally hard to believe that the Prime Minister who embodies clean politics and Ms Sonia Gandhi, the Congress President, have appointed Deora to head the Petrolem Ministry.
The Government must realize that it’s time they do reputation management and truly assure the nation that they are an impartial entity in this corporate battle. Deora must be shifted immediately from this portfolio.it’s high time that the Government takes cognizance of the situation and takes a strong action by immediately shifting Murli Deora to a different ministry.
If Deora’s reasoning is pursued to its logical conclusion, despite being responsible for fixing the price, the government is not going to gain monetarily. It will still be RIL which will walk away with all the money. All that talk of protecting a “sovereign asset” is just plain old baloney.
the government has admitted to the importance of gas from the KG basin to run the Dadri power plant. Deora is now saying that Dadri’s requirements would be considered at par with those of other similar projects. Deora’s shifting positions clearly show that government is still confused on what line of approach it should take on this issue.
Infact government should take cognizance of the other political parties who have been demanding that government should take over the distribution and marketing right of the KG-D6 basin gas at the delivery point so that the same can be distributed and marketed through National Gas Grid under government control.
after reading the above mentioned post, i did a bit of research & found this interesting like.. thought i share it with you guys. ......
http://www.vanityfair.com/business/features/2009/10/new-establishment200910?currentPage=20
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