Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday and sought the latter’s intervention in correcting the anomaly in gas supply to the state and restore Andhra Pradesh’s rightful share of 75 per cent of Reliance’s gas from the KG Basin. Accompanied by MPs from the state, Mr Kiran Kumar Reddy submitted a memorandum in this regard to Dr Singh.
Talking to reporters later, the CM said that the PM “gave a patient hearing and has promised to look into it”. Mr Reddy said that he had told the prime minister that the decision of the Empowered Group of Ministers should be kept in abeyance and it should consider the issue afresh keeping in mind the interests of AP and the commitment given to the state by the same EGOM in 2009 when it had promised to allot 75 per cent of gas from the KG basin.
“We requested him (Dr Singh) to keep the decision in abeyance and consider the matter afresh in the light of the commitment made to the state in 2009 by the EGOM,” Mr Reddy said. The state has been reeling under acute power shortages and matters worsened after the EGOM on August 1 decided to divert extra gas to Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri Power Plant from the KG basin. The state thus has been getting only 1.48 MMSC-MD (Million Metric Standard Cubic Metre a Day). As it is AP was getting 3.48 MMSCMD of gas against the target of 6.8 MMSCMD. This has led to a shortage of 400 Megawatt of power in the state, which resulted in power cuts for hours.