The Hindu : No ordinance to terminate allotments: Ram Naik

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Aug 29, 2002

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No ordinance to terminate allotments: Ram Naik

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI Aug. 28. The Centre today ruled out any immediate move to issue an ordinance for terminating the allotment of petrol pumps, gas agencies and kerosene dealerships, cancellation of which has been stayed by the Supreme Court.

Disclosing this, the Petroleum Minister, Ram Naik, said there was no urgency to give a statutory backing to the Prime Minister's order terminating all the allotments since January 2000.

The Cabinet had considered the proposal last week but decided to put it in abeyance.

Reacting to the Supreme Court ruling, he said it was an interim arrangement.

"The merits of our (termination) order will be considered when the case comes up for hearing in November.''

The court's decision would be followed up by restoring supplies to all the 2,248 petrol pumps, gas agencies and kerosene dealerships.

But the Government would defend its decision in the court.

The decision had been taken in the "public interest and on moral grounds'' as a result of the controversy and the Opposition outcry, and the stalling of the parliamentary proceedings.

The Government, meanwhile, had received 45 bids for 23 oil and gas exploration blocks on offer under the third round of the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP).

The public sector Oil and Natural Gas Corporation had put in bids for 23 blocks out of the 27 on offer, while the Reliance Industries in consortium with the Hardy Oil of the U.K. had bid for 15 blocks.

The third round of bidding, which closed today, had the same bidders as before, including the Scottish company, Cairn Energy, Premier Oil and Geo Global Resources of Canada being the only foreign companies besides the Hardy Oil.

Mr. Naik said the bids would be finalised in 10 weeks and that the contracts were likely to be signed by January end.

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