The Hindu : Front Page : YSR seeks gas allocation priority to power sector

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Sunday, Feb 08, 2009
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YSR seeks gas allocation priority to power sector

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy has urged External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who is also in-charge of Finance Ministry, to inter-change the priority of natural gas allocation out of the gas produced by the Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) from the Krishna-Godavari basin in the State.

Instead of allotting the gas first to the fertilizers sector, as decided by the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM), headed by Mr. Mukherjee, priority of allocation could be made to the power sector during March-April 2009 as it would help Andhra Pradesh to generate more.

He pointed out that EGoM gave priority to the fertilizers production as it was imported at higher rates due to shortage in production in the country then.

Now, the situation had changed and the fertilizer prices had come down and the priority of gas allocation could be changed now, he argued.

With the State government expected to get nine out of 18 million metric standard cubic metres per day (mmscmd) of gas, the power production could jump up by another 2,500 MW in Andhra Pradesh.

He also urged Mr. Mukherjee to permit the State to raise additional resources of Rs. 7,638 crore by way of borrowings beyond 3.5 per cent of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) during 2008-09 and waive proviso 24 of the Debt Consolidation and Relief Facility (DCRF) guidelines.

Meets Antony

Dr. Reddy called on Defence Minister A.K. Antony which he later described as a courtesy call.

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