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Dual pricing policy for diesel under study: Deora

Manas Dasgupta

He was speaking at a function to celebrate the golden jubilee of the first oil find in India

CAMBAY (GUJARAT): The Centre is considering a proposal to introduce dual pricing policy for diesel, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Murli Deora has said.

Speaking at a function to celebrate the golden jubilee of the first oil find in India at Lunej village near Cambay in central Gujarat by the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, Mr. Deora said the government was planning to withdraw the subsidy on diesel for the private sector while continuing it for the railways, defence and public sector transport.

He said rich people driving diesel luxury cars should not expect cheap fuel at the cost of the poor. “They should be prepared to shell out more.” Mr. Deora, however, did not indicate when the government planned to introduce the new system and whether trucks transporting essential commodities would continue to get subsidised diesel.

Uranium mining

With new openings coming up following the nuclear deal between India and the United States, the ONGC would soon enter into an agreement with the Uranium Corporation of India for uranium exploration and mining, Mr. Deora said.

The ONGC Chairman and Managing Director R.S. Sharma said many other companies were vying for the deal, but the ONGC had won the first race.

Lunej story recalled

Mr. Deora recalled the historic moment when the ONGC first struck oil at Lunej 50 years ago, shattering the myths that oil was not available on this part of the earth and Indian technology was not mature enough to explore oil and gas.

When news of the oil strike on September 5, 1958, reached Delhi, many MPs were sceptical. The then petroleum secretary, A.M.N. Ghosh, came to Lunej. He carried a sample of the oil for the Petroleum Minister, K. D. Malviya, who then announced India’s success in Parliament on September 12. “It is ours and exploited by our own technology and no one in the world can lay claim to this oil,” Malviya proudly told Parliament. Soon after the official announcement, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru came to Lunej, Mr. Deora said.

Nehru’s gesture

As he watched the exploration near the well, a few drops of crude fell on his spotless white sherwani. “These are the symbols of the country’s pride,” he said. He took the soiled sherwani as a souvenir back with him.

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