The Planning Commission has described the move to penalise Reliance Industries (RIL) for the production shortfall of natural gas from two key blocks of the KG-D6 basin as "a bad precedent".
In a letter to the petroleum ministry issued with the approval of deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, the Plan panel has noted, "it could impact adversely on the investment climate in the same way as retrospective tax amendments did".
It has also rapped the petroleum ministry for trying to approach the Cabinet for a view on it without appointing an international consultant to examine the issues.
The Commission has cautioned this will create the possibility of potential arbitrariness in an area where the government is trying hard to attract private investment and modern technology.
The Plan panel observations were made on a day when petroleum minister M Veerappa Moily has accepted there is reason to appoint such an expert. "There are world renowned experts who definitely can go into these things and can come out with the truth. We don't want to prevent any truth from coming out," he told reporters after speaking at a seminar.
Output from RIL-owned D1and D3 blocks had hit a peak of 66.35 mmscmd in 2010 before falling to a less than a sixth of it. Moily's ministry has said they need to determine whether the depleted output was due to geological constraints or was a default by the company for failing to fulfil the mandated investment in the fields.
The ministry has consequently moved a Cabinet note saying that RIL's output from the two fields should not be priced at the revised new price of approximately $8.4 per mmBtu till either the shortfall is made good or it is proven that it was due to factors the company could not control for.
... contd.
ALSO READ
With CCEA approval, runway clear for Jet-Etihad take off
Experts push for joint action to face health insurance woes
Govt plans to tweak law to boost air connectivity
There is nobody in India who can buy Airtel: Sunil MittalTERMS OF USE: The views, opinions and comments posted are your, and are not endorsed by this website. You shall be solely responsible for the comment posted here. The website reserves the right to delete, reject, or otherwise remove any views, opinions and comments posted or part thereof. You shall ensure that the comment is not inflammatory, abusive, derogatory, defamatory &/or obscene, or contain pornographic matter and/or does not constitute hate mail, or violate privacy of any person (s) or breach confidentiality or otherwise is illegal, immoral or contrary to public policy. Nor should it contain anything infringing copyright &/or intellectual property rights of any person(s).
via Business - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNF_R9Z_RD27QpAg6X7iAO9BA6s0xQ&url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/penalising-ril-a-bad-precedent-plan-panel/1178714/
Put the internet to work for you.
0 comments:
Post a Comment