Date:22/01/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/01/22/stories/2008012255151300.htm

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Fuel price hike put on hold

Sujay Mehdudia

NEW DELHI: The proposed hike in prices of petroleum products is understood to have been put on hold for a few days as there is no certainty of the Group of Ministers (GoM), headed by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, meeting to take a decision on the issue this week.

Deora’s London visit

Official sources said Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Murli Deora, along with the Petroleum Secretary and a senior official, will leave for London on Tuesday for the road shows planned to highlight the New Exploration Licensing Policy VII announced last month.

Mr. Deora will return on January 27 and in his absence there is little chance of the GoM holding a meeting.

Although there were indications that the GoM could meet on Monday it did not materialise in view of the visit of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The visit of French President Nicolas Sarkozy later this week also reduces the possibility of a GoM meeting as Mr. Mukherjee will be busy.

The GoM meeting on January 17 remained inconclusive. It deliberated on four sets of options for fuel price hike, which will be clubbed with duty restructuring to limit the impact of rising global crude oil prices on the State-run oil marketing firms.

The Core Group of the Congress is also expected to deliberate on the issue and convey its sentiments to the government.

Mr. Deora had indicated that hike would be “minimal to protect the common man.”