The government has asked Reliance Industries to cut gas output from its eastern offshore KG-D6 fields so that imported fuel stocks can be cleared, a direction that the Mukesh Ambani-run company has rejected.
The petroleum ministry had in a meeting on April 30 asked Reliance to explore cutting down output so that the imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) accumulating at Petronet LNG Ltd’s Dahej terminal in Gujarat can be sold to customers.
“Reliance may examine whether it would be possible to cutback the production from KG-D6 fields by some amount for a short period,” according to the minutes of the meeting.
“Reliance has not agreed to or planned to cut down on the production of gas from KG basin,” a company spokesperson said.
Petronet, which ships gas in its liquid form (LNG) from Qatar on a long-term contract, is facing a glut after three fertiliser plants that used LNG as feedstock shut down for maintenance and a power plant owned by NTPC tripped.
By asking Reliance to cut output, the ministry had hoped it can push the imported gas to customers using KG-D6 gas.
Observers expressed surprise at the decision saying imported expensive gas was being prioritised over cheaper domestic gas. “The priority should be to use cheaper fuel first and use,” observers said.
Showing posts with label rejected. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rejected. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Rosaiah against hiking domestic power tariff
Refusing to add to the burden on the domestic consumers, the Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, has rejected the proposal of a power tariff hike. This will benefit 1.8 crore domestic consumers. Mr Rosaiah has, however, agreed to a hike in the power tariff for industries and the commercial sectors.
When officials from the power board presented their briefs on the 2010-11 tariff proposals to the Chief Minister, he told them not to press for a hike on the tariff for domestic consumers just before the local body elections.
The Transco and Discoms had proposed a tariff hike for high-end consumers who use more than 300 units a month. Mr Rosaiah rejected this proposal too stating that the government will not put pressure on the middle class that is already facing the economic slowdown and dealing with rising prices of essential commodities.
Meanwhile, the submission of the Annual Revenue Requirement (ARR) report, that was to be submitted on Monday, will now be submitted on Tuesday as some of the Discom CMDs could not reach the city on time.
A revision of rate slabs within the domestic sector was proposed by the Transco to earn higher revenues. Exclusive slabs for multiplexes and shopping malls have also been proposed. New slabs in the commercial category to collect Rs 7 per unit will be introduced.
Transco and Discoms CMDs will submit these proposals to the Electricity Regulatory Commission (ERC) on Tuesday, and public hearings on the same will be organised across the state. After these hearings conclude, the ERC will give its verdict on the tariff proposals and these will be implemented from July.
“We are yet to decide on whether the new tariffs will be applicable for the entire year or from the date of implementation,” said the chairman and managing director of APTransco, Mr Ajay Jain.
Mr Rosaiah has also decided not to make changes in the free power scheme though the Planning Commission raised some reservations over this. But former chief minister YSR’s poll promise — to increase the duration of free power supply from the existing seven hours to nine hours — is not being considered. A severe shortage of power being cited as the reason.
When officials from the power board presented their briefs on the 2010-11 tariff proposals to the Chief Minister, he told them not to press for a hike on the tariff for domestic consumers just before the local body elections.
The Transco and Discoms had proposed a tariff hike for high-end consumers who use more than 300 units a month. Mr Rosaiah rejected this proposal too stating that the government will not put pressure on the middle class that is already facing the economic slowdown and dealing with rising prices of essential commodities.
Meanwhile, the submission of the Annual Revenue Requirement (ARR) report, that was to be submitted on Monday, will now be submitted on Tuesday as some of the Discom CMDs could not reach the city on time.
A revision of rate slabs within the domestic sector was proposed by the Transco to earn higher revenues. Exclusive slabs for multiplexes and shopping malls have also been proposed. New slabs in the commercial category to collect Rs 7 per unit will be introduced.
Transco and Discoms CMDs will submit these proposals to the Electricity Regulatory Commission (ERC) on Tuesday, and public hearings on the same will be organised across the state. After these hearings conclude, the ERC will give its verdict on the tariff proposals and these will be implemented from July.
“We are yet to decide on whether the new tariffs will be applicable for the entire year or from the date of implementation,” said the chairman and managing director of APTransco, Mr Ajay Jain.
Mr Rosaiah has also decided not to make changes in the free power scheme though the Planning Commission raised some reservations over this. But former chief minister YSR’s poll promise — to increase the duration of free power supply from the existing seven hours to nine hours — is not being considered. A severe shortage of power being cited as the reason.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Hyderabad ‘free zone’, SC refuses state plea
The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a petition filed by the Andhra Pradesh government seeking a review of its ruling giving free zone status to Hyderabad for recruitment of police personnel.
Justices G.S. Singhvi and M.K. Sharma rejected the review petition in a hearing conducted in their chamber.
Sources said the Chief Minsiter, Mr K. Rosaiah, is likely to convene an all-party meeting on Wednesday morning in the Assembly to take stock of the situation arising out of the SC order on the sensitive issue.
The apex court had given the ruling in favour of free zone on October 9, 2009, while dealing with a petition filed by P.V. Radhakrishna, then inspector of the city police, opposing a separate cadre for Hyderabad.
The petitioner had appealed against an AP High Court order which stated that the city police was part of Zone 6 delineated by the Presidential Order for recruitment and its personnel cannot claim free zone status.
Mr Radhakrishna contended before the apex court that the city police had been exempted from the Presidential Order as per Section 14 (F).
Endorsing this, the Supreme Court set aside the High Court order, and said that the city was a free zone and would not come under Zone 6 specified in the Presidential Order.
As per the Presidential Order, the State was divided into six zones and the sixth zone included the districts of Nizamabad, Mahbubnagar, Medak, Nalgonda and Hyderabad. However, personnel were recruited in the city police during 1985, 1991 and 1994 treating Hyderabad as a free zone.
Following the Supreme Court order in October, there was uproar in the state with the Telangana Rastra Samiti threatening to launch a stir if Hyderabad was declared a free zone. The state government then hurriedly convened an all-party meeting and decided to file a review petition in the apex court.
The government argued that the procedure followed for recruitment of police in 1985, 1991 and 1994,
could not be used to declare the city a free zone. But this did not impress the Supreme Court.
Reacting to the latest Supreme Court ruling, the former minister and TRS leader, Mr T. Harish Rao, urged the Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, to adopt a resolution in the Assembly on Wednesday seeking amendment of the Presidential Order to treat Hyderabad as part of Zone 6.
Mr Harish Rao told this correspondent that in the all party meeting held last October, the TRS chief, Mr K. Chandrasekhar Rao, had pointed out that filing a review petition was of no use and only an amendment to the Presidential Order could bring about the desired result.
Sources said the Chief Minister too was in favour of the view that Hyderabad belonged within Zone 6.
Justices G.S. Singhvi and M.K. Sharma rejected the review petition in a hearing conducted in their chamber.
Sources said the Chief Minsiter, Mr K. Rosaiah, is likely to convene an all-party meeting on Wednesday morning in the Assembly to take stock of the situation arising out of the SC order on the sensitive issue.
The apex court had given the ruling in favour of free zone on October 9, 2009, while dealing with a petition filed by P.V. Radhakrishna, then inspector of the city police, opposing a separate cadre for Hyderabad.
The petitioner had appealed against an AP High Court order which stated that the city police was part of Zone 6 delineated by the Presidential Order for recruitment and its personnel cannot claim free zone status.
Mr Radhakrishna contended before the apex court that the city police had been exempted from the Presidential Order as per Section 14 (F).
Endorsing this, the Supreme Court set aside the High Court order, and said that the city was a free zone and would not come under Zone 6 specified in the Presidential Order.
As per the Presidential Order, the State was divided into six zones and the sixth zone included the districts of Nizamabad, Mahbubnagar, Medak, Nalgonda and Hyderabad. However, personnel were recruited in the city police during 1985, 1991 and 1994 treating Hyderabad as a free zone.
Following the Supreme Court order in October, there was uproar in the state with the Telangana Rastra Samiti threatening to launch a stir if Hyderabad was declared a free zone. The state government then hurriedly convened an all-party meeting and decided to file a review petition in the apex court.
The government argued that the procedure followed for recruitment of police in 1985, 1991 and 1994,
could not be used to declare the city a free zone. But this did not impress the Supreme Court.
Reacting to the latest Supreme Court ruling, the former minister and TRS leader, Mr T. Harish Rao, urged the Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, to adopt a resolution in the Assembly on Wednesday seeking amendment of the Presidential Order to treat Hyderabad as part of Zone 6.
Mr Harish Rao told this correspondent that in the all party meeting held last October, the TRS chief, Mr K. Chandrasekhar Rao, had pointed out that filing a review petition was of no use and only an amendment to the Presidential Order could bring about the desired result.
Sources said the Chief Minister too was in favour of the view that Hyderabad belonged within Zone 6.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
No T-evaluators for T-students
The state government has rejected the demand of the Telangana Joint Action Committee (TJAC) that the Intermediate exam answer sheets of students from the Telangana region should only be evaluated by evaluators hailing from the T-region.
It has been a regular practice for the Board of Intermediate Education (BIE) to send answer scripts of a particular district to spot valuation centres in other districts.
However, the TJAC has demanded a “region-wise” evaluation this time, arguing that evaluators from Andhra may award less marks to T-students in the present political conditions.
The TJAC convener, Prof. Kodandaram, met the BIE secretary, Mr G. Balaramaiah, twice to put forth the demand. Several Congress, Telugu Desam and Telangana Rashtra Samiti politicians from the T-region also made representations to the Board as did student unions who demonstrated in front of the BIE office.
The Board referred the matter to the government to take a final call. The government has rejected the demand saying that there are already enough precautionary measures in place to ensure “fair valuation”.
“Our intermediate education has a good reputation nationally as a major chunk of seats in national-level competitive exams like IITJEE, AIEEE, AFMC, etc., are bagged by our students every year,” said the minister for secondary education, Mr D. Manikya Vara Prasada Rao.
“If we alter the system for petty politics, it will do more harm than good,” he added.
He also said that there were enough provisions in the existing evaluation system to protect the identity of students.
