Gas order violates federal spirit:TDP

Telugu Desam Party today said the Centre's decision to divert two MMSCMD of gas from KG Basin to Maharashtra was a gross violation of federal spirit and wanted the controversial order withdrawn immediately.

In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today, TDP chief and Leader of the Opposition N Chandrababu Naidu sought his intervention to rescind the unjust decision.The Centre's decision to divert gas to Ratnagiri power plant, depriving AP of its needs, is a gross violation of federal spirit and promotion of regional imbalances. The state has already been reeling under a grave power crisis with cuts in cities and three-day (a week) power holiday to industries, Chandrababu said in the letter.
 He also noted that the Ratnagiri plant was well-connected to access RLNG (regasified liquefied natural gas) while AP had dismal infrastructure and total under-utilisation of installed capacity (of gas-based power plants).
 
I, therefore, request you to intervene and get the order withdrawn immediately, the TDP president urged the Prime Minister.
 
In an order issued by the Centre last week, two million metric standard cubic meters per day (MMSCMD)of gas would be diverted from Krishna-Godavari Basin to Ratnagiri power plant in Maharashtra even when Andhra Pradesh was itself suffering from acute shortage of gas and its gas-based power plants were working with a plant load factor of only 30 per cent.

The state would now get only 1.48 MMSCMD of gas from Reliance's D6 wells following the Centre's order that came into effect from August 1.
-PTI