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National / Cover Stories MAGAZINE | J UL 15, 2013
The late Y.S.R. Reddy wanted a special gas price for Andhra
RELIANCE
Reliable AttitudesYSRs long fight for a share of KG basin
gas
MADHAVI TATA
Its ironical that none of the Andhra political parties are
staging demonstrations against the gas price hike. The YSR Congress
issued one press statement; the TeluguDesam Party held a rally; the
Congress remained mum, as did the TRS. The weakened Left seems to
have little energy or drive to stage protests. With the schedule
forpanchayat elections having been announced (late J uly) and a
decision on Telangana in the offing, parties have other
priorities.
It wasnt always like this. During the course of an interview to
Outlook in 2006, the late Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy had gritted his
teeth when asked about his tussle with
Reliance over reserves in KG basin and a fair allotment to
Andhra Pradesh. Gas is a natural resource, a property of the
nation, not of a private companys, he had said.YSR said he raised
the issue in the assembly as Opposition leader during Chandrababu
Naidus rule, when the KG basin blocks came up for auction. At the
time, theGujarat government had participated in the bidding. YSR
argued that by not acting similarly, the TDP government compromised
the states future.
As a CM who had almost single-handedly brought the Congress to
power in 2004 on a promise of free power to farmers, a share in the
gas in KG basin was crucial toYSR. In fact, such was the tussle
between Reliance and YSR that files related to laying of pipelines
moved at snails pace. He even spoke of leading an all-party
delegationto the PM to seek a lower gas price for AP.
But in 2008, Y SR said he would not pursue the fight for a
reduction in gas price. The Centre is bound by a contractual
obligation under the New Exploration Licensingpolicy, he explained.
There are fears that amendments now would hamper fresh investments,
he had said. YSR then dismissed reports that Reliance would face
troublewhile laying pipelines in Kakinada explaining that he was
only concerned about a share in gas and special price for the
state.
In 2009, a re-elected YSR government reopened the issue. He
wrote a letter to the PMO in July, requesting that Andhra should
get at least 10 per cent of the gasallocation on a preferential
basis. He asked the PM to defend the Centres right to allocate
national resources, as the legal battle between Mukesh Ambanis RIL
and AnilAmbanis Reliance Natural Resources Ltd would hurt the
common man. The Bombay High Court at the time had suggested that
the two brothers could approach theirmother for a solution, to
which YSR had remarked that KG basin gas would be allotted to
states by the Centre and not by Ambani brothers or their
mother.
By Madhavi Tata in Hyderabad
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6/7/2013
