Ever since Veerappa Moily has taken over as the Petroleum Minister and ever since the Rangarajan committee devised a rather convoluted formula that seems to have confused everyone we have seen many experts given free advice to the government on the issue of gas pricing.
However in all the rantings of these so called experts I have failed to understand some basic issues:
1) The New Exploration Licensing Policy has been around for the last ten years if no more. How come these wise cracks took so long to wake up and that too after a few billion dollars had already been sunk under the PSCs.
2) Some of these PSCs were signed when the NDA was around, So why are they haranguing only poor Moily. What happened to Ram Naik, Mani Shamkar, Murli Deora and Jaipal Reddy? Did they not approve and sign these PSCs and the many things that are now said to be totally wrong with them?
3) Out of over two hundred PSCs how come we only know of one? What on earth has happened in the others?
4) ANd finally what kind of experts are those who like Kejriwal propose that cheap (read free!) energy is the answer to all our problems. Are we hearing experts or politicians?
Surya Sethi, prone to mimic a now famous prime time TV anchor has once again, vented his umbrage at the Petroleum Minister by asking direct questions. Is he an expert or journalist who thinks his only job is to ask questions and not offer any solutions. After all having been in the Planning Commission and what all, where was e when these contracts were being farmed? Could he not have asked these questions, raised these objections when these PSCs were being signed? Or has he like so many others of his ilk become cleverer post retirement having had the benefit of hindsight? As an expert Mr Sethi you should be offering solutions. And not solutions for one sector at the cost of the other but like a true Planning Commission expert, for the overall energy crisis that India faces. You cannot Dear Mr Sethi solve the problems of the power sector or the fertilizer sector a the cost of the oil and gas sector. That is what politicians and not experts do! You must suggest ways in which India can sole its overall energy problem. To enable it to get more oil, gas whatever in the long run. And the long run means not today not five years later but for the next generation.
Maybe all the private sector players are looting the country, the public sector companies are useless and the politicians are hand-in-glove with them, but what are the options left ? Is importing oil the only solution ? Is India going to be perpetual and eternal market forever transferring its wealth to foreign shores? Will we never like the US work towards energy security and make ourselves less vulnerable to manipulation by more powerful economies?
Can M/s Sethi, Sarma and Dasgupta, who seem to have no other objective but to have held the Petroleum ministry to ransom, offer some solutions for increasing India’s oil & gas output in the next three years, instead of making unsubstantiated claims and charges. Shouldn’t India like America and China work towards energy security and ensure that the current and future generations are not held hostage to some middle eastern Sheiks who can turn our taps of energy, stifle our growth and starve our population.
Let’s hope these self-proclaimed experts do churn out some solutions instead of spending their time on slander and insinuation, emulating crab-like mentalities.
Maybe we are in a mad world. So who better than Alice to steer us !
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