Nation needs proper petroleum policy - Shri Ram Naik

Nation needs proper petroleum policy - Shri Ram Naik

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, April 28, 2011: Addressing reporters at a press conference held at the BJP office on April 28, Thursday, Shri Ram Naik, the BJP leader and former petroleum minister, said that India is facing two serious problems, inflation and corruption.

The hike in prices of petroleum products has led to inflation during the past 16 years, said Mr. Naik, adding that PM Dr. Manmohan Singh should demonstrate enough political will and courage to create and implement a proper petroleum policy.

Further explaining his statements, Mr. Naik said that India imports 70 percent of her crude oil requirements. Since the prices of crude oil are highly volatile in the international market, it has an impact on the Indian economy, he explained, adding that it is therefore necessary to create a petroleum policy, which will insulate the economy and protect consumers. The current petroleum prices comprise 50 percent import duty, sales tax, excise tax, and so on while current diesel prices comprise 33 percent tax, owing to which it is in the best interests of the nation to create and implement an appropriate petroleum policy, said the former minister, questioning if the prime minister possesses the political will to formulate such a policy.

Further elaborating on the issue, he said that the country is now witnessing acute shortage of LPG cooking gas cylinders and that a consumer will have to wait one month to get a replacement cylinder. During the Vajpayee regime, the government provided over a crore new connections and cylinders were delivered within one working day without any additional price being charged to customers.

Admitting that black market operations were also rampant at that time, he said that the Vajpayee government had introduced small 5kg cylinders for the benefit of people living in rural and hilly areas or belonging to low-income groups. Later, the Congress discontinued the scheme and began selling the small cylinders at commercial rates.

He said that the lack of political will on the part of the PM will lead to serious consequences and referred to the ghastly incident in which the Maharashtrian oil mafia burned alive a deputy collector who attempted to catch adulterators of oil red handed. Speaking of his experiences as petroleum minister, he said that he had constituted an anti adulteration cell with regional branches in all states, which turned out to be very effective and curbed adulteration activities to a considerable extent. However, Dr. Manmohan Singh immediately disbanded the anti-adulteration cell, he added.

Providing one more example of Dr. Manmohan Singh’s lack of political will, he said that the nation requires a supplementary source of energy to reduce import of crude oil. The Vajpayee government had introduced ethanol, a by product of molasses, which also boosted the income of sugarcane farmers. In the first phase, 5 percent ethanol was mixed with petrol in sugarcane producing states. In the second phase, the government ought to have mixed 10 percent ethanol to petrol, but it succumbed to the pressure of the liquor lobby and stopped the experiment. After six years, the government is now mulling over the idea of a supplementary source of energy.

Sudhir P. Ghate, the chairman of Magnum Intergrafiks Ltd., delivered the welcome address. MP Nalin Kumar Kateel, KFDC President Ramachandra Baikampady, Shrikar Prabhu, and many others were present.