Kejriwal orders FIR for creating artificial scarcity of natural gas from KG Basin to cause windfall profit for RIl
Opening another salvo against the high and mighty, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal ordered the registration of criminal cases against Reliance Industries limited (RIl) chairman Mukesh Ambani, Union Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily, former Petroleum Minister and Rajya Sabha Member Murli Deora, former Director General of Hydro Carbons VK Sibal and other officials of RIl for allegedly creating artificial scarcity of natural gas from Krishna-Godavari (KG) Basin and raising gas prices.
Kejriwal ordered the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) to register an FIR under the Prevention of Corruption Act and investigate the roles of each individual alleging that the gas cartel was responsible for the price rise. The Chief Minister claimed that he had received complaints against RIl for making windfall gains from the KG Basin deal.
Addressing a press conference, the AAP chief announced on Tuesday that he had decided to act on the complaints of four prominent persons, including former Cabinet Secretary TSR Subramaniam, former Navy Chief Admiral RH Tahiliani, noted SC lawyer Kamini Jaiswal and former Secretary (Expenditure) EAS Sarama, who spoke about the alleged nexus between some ministers and industrialists to create artificial shortage of gas in order to make windfall gains for RIl from the KG Basin deal.
Kejriwal said the details in the complaint were “shocking” and were an assault on the country’s economic sovereignty amounting to anti-national activity. Quoting from the complaint, the Chief Minister said the impact of the hike in gas price would cost the country a minimum of Rs 54,500 crore every year and allow RIl to make a future windfall profit of Rs 1.2 lakh crore.
“We have asked the ACB to file criminal cases against RIl chairman Mukesh Ambani, Union Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily, former Petroleum Minister and Rajya Sabha member Murli Deora and others,” he said.
“The four prominent persons have complained that Reliance Industries was given gas wells a year ago. The production cost is less than one dollar per MMBTU (million British Thermal Unit). The RIl was given lease for 17 years to sell gas to the Government at 2.3 dollars per unit, but the rate was raised to 4.2 dollar (Rs 262.25). RIl created an artificial shortage and produced just 18 per cent gas.
Now the oil ministry has decided to double the rate from April 1 and buy gas from RIl at 8.4 dollar (Rs 524.20) per MMBTU. It will make the gas prices in India one of the highest in the world,” Kejriwal said.
“In case this price hike is allowed to take place, it will make the life of common man miserable since it will have a cascading effect on transport, domestic gas and even electricity prices,” he said, alleging that RIl did not produce adequate gas from eastern offshore KG basin block so as to put pressure on the government to hike the price.
“We believe that inflation is going up due to corruption. We will have to take strict actions to weed out corruption. It is a decisive battle for us,” Kejriwal said. He said the government’s argument to hike the gas price based on international rates and not on the basis of cost of production, was not acceptable. “Basically they were looking for some ways to inflate the price. In the complaint it is also alleged that Reliance partner NICO still today is providing gas to Bangladesh at USD 2.34 dollar per unit,” Kejriwal said.
“Two petroleum ministers during the last 10 years, Mani Shankar Aiyar and S Jaipal Reddy, who did not work according to the wishes of the RIl, were shifted out of the ministry,” Kejriwal said.
launching a scathing attack on the Congress and Opposition parties, he alleged, “Gas lobby has bribed the Congress, the Opposition parties and some media houses. Why are they keeping quietIJ” He said that if the gas price is hiked from April 1, the people will suffer. “The prices of power, transport, CNG, PNG, all essential commodities will be increased if the gas price is hiked,” Kejriwal said. He demanded that the gas fields allocated to Reliance Industries in KG basin off the Andhra Pradesh coast be taken back and handed over to the state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC).
Taking a jibe at Kejriwal, Congress leader Harun Yusuf said that Kejriwal can very well register a case against USA president Barak Obama. “He can also go after former Pakistan president Parvez Musharraf,” Yusuf said.
Kejriwal said that he would write to the Prime Minister for probe into the case and will ask him to take back gas wells from RIl. Defending his decision to order cases, Kejriwal said that the CBI and the ACB has concurrent jurisdiction. Existing laws and rules empower the ACB to take up the probe into complaints of corruption about alleged offences which take place within its territorial jurisdiction.