Naik welcomes SC ruling on RIL-RNRL row
Former Petroleum Minister Ram Naik today welcomed the Supreme Court ruling on the RIL-RNRL gas row, saying the court has "rightly upheld that gas and oil resources are the national property".
Former Petroleum Minister Ram Naik today welcomed the Supreme Court ruling on the RIL-RNRL gas row, saying the court has "rightly upheld that gas and oil resources are the national property".
"When the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) was introduced by me as Petroleum Minister, we had very clearly said that the Explorer will be the licensee and he will have the freedom to sell the gas at market determined price subject to the approval of the government as per gas distribution policy," Naik said.
The private MoU would distort the marketing arrangements, he said.
While the Supreme Court has settled the issue, I feel sorry that in spite of having drawn his attention in July 2009, before the matter went to the Supreme Court, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh did not act swiftly and the country could not use natural gas for nearly a year, thereby causing irreparable economic loss to the country, Naik said.