The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Minister says Neethi was forced to hike price of gas

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Friday, Oct 19, 2007
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Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Minister says Neethi was forced to hike price of gas

Special Correspondent

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Minister for Cooperation G. Sudhakaran has said that it is because the Centre does not supply bulk gas at reduced rates from the central pool to the Neethi Gas of the State Cooperative Consumer Federation as it does to the public sector companies that the former was forced to increase the price. He said in an official press note here on Thursday that by the end of 2006, the agency was supplying gas to consumers at a loss of Rs.169 a cylinder. The loss to the Federation as a result of it was Rs.15 crore till last year.

As the Federation incurred heavy loss from liquor sales also owing to the previous management’s incompetence, it could no longer supply gas by incurring loss. But the price at which it was supplying gas was still lower than the price at which private agencies such as Elf and Caltex were supplying it. He said the Government was asking the Federation to reimburse 50 per cent of the deposit to those who did not want to maintain the connection. The remaining 50 per cent would be returned when the Federation’s finances improved.

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