PM to review gas quota decision on Andhra Pradesh

New Delhi: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will review on Tuesday the EGoM’s decision to reduce quota of gas to power projects in Andhra Pradesh, Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy said in New Delhi today.

Facing flak from opposition over the Centre’s decision to reduce quota of gas to power projects in the state, Reddy today met the prime minister, power minister Veerappa Moily and Defence Minister AK Antony, who chairs the EGoM on Gas, requesting them to address the issue of the deletion of 2 million metric standard cubic meters (MMSCMD) gas per day, which the state is supposed to get.[caption id=“attachment_407823” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Andhra Pradesh gas in mind. Image courtesy PIB[/caption]

“We requested the prime minister and the minister for power, minister for defence who is the chairman of the EGoM to restore back whatever is due to us,” Reddy told reporters after meeting the prime minister.

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“Prime minister had a very patient hearing and said he will review the decision tomorrow and get back,” the chief minister said.

On 1 August, the Centre had issued an order that two million metric standard cubic meters per day (MMSCMD) of gas be diverted from the Krishna-Godavari basin to Ratnagiri in Maharashtra.

“…we are supposed to get 9.13 mmscmd. But what we are getting today is 3.48 MMSCMD. They have removed 2 from this 3.48 mmscmd,” Reddy said.

Already starved of gas for its power plants that have been working with a load factor of only 30 percent, Andhra Pradesh would now get only 1.48 MMSCMD of gas from Reliance’s D6 wells.

The reduction in the quota of gas led the Telugu Desam and other opposition parties to hit out at the Congress governments at the Centre and in state for “injustice” done to Andhra Pradesh.

PTI