National
PM to decide on modalities for dismantling APM
By Our Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI, FEB. 5. With reported differences persisting between the ministries of Finance and Petroleum, the Union Cabinet today left it to the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, to work out the modalities for dismantling the Administered Pricing Mechanism (APM) for petroleum products, which is scheduled to come into operation by April 1 this year.
``The Cabinet was informed about the progress made in dismantling the APM. The issue was discussed and the Prime Minister authorised to take a final decision on the modalities,'' an official spokesperson told presspersons after a two-hour meeting of the Cabinet.
The meeting discussed petroleum sector decontrol which would result in freeing pricing of petrol, diesel, kerosene and LPG amidst reports of differences between Petroleum and Finance ministries over the phase out of subsidies on kerosene for public distribution system (PDS) and domestic cooking gas (LPG).
While the official spokesperson refused to say anything further on the deliberations by the Cabinet, sources said the Finance Ministry wanted to limit subsidies on LPG and kerosene by indicating a subsidised quota per family while the Petroleum Ministry felt restricting subsidy on the two mass- consumption cooking mediums would not be practically feasible.
Post-APM, the Government proposes to bring down the subsidies on kerosene and LPG to 33.3 and 15 per cent, which would be paid out from General Budget.
The subsidy bill for 2002-03 at current international price levels is estimated to be over Rs 9,000 crores, sources said.
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