New Delhi:Peeved over lesser prices offered by ONGC to Assam than Gujarat for crude oil, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Thursday threatened to take “strong steps” like halting operations of the energy giant in his state for doing such “great injustice”.
“I am extremely unhappy with the behaviour of the ONGC. ONGC is giving Gujarat government market price for the crude oil produced there but denying the same to Assam.
We cannot tolerate such great injustice. We will see what steps we can take,” he said at a press conference here. Asked whether his government would stop the operations of ONGC in Assam, Gogoi did not elaborate but said “we will intervene.
Assam government has to take steps, some strong steps”. The Chief Minister said the “discriminatory” attitude of the ONGC cannot be acceptable and it was “very deplorable” that the public sector energy giant was denying the due share to Assam.
In a memorandum to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gogoi on Wednesday said a special category state like Assam cannot afford such a huge loss of revenue and oil producing states like Assam or Gujarat should not be denied the benefit of their natural resources and made to compensate for the under recoveries of the Central Oil Marketing Companies.
The CM said following a petition filed by the Gujarat government, the Gujarat High Court recently held that the royalty shall be payable to the state on the market price of crude oil and not on post-discount price.
“Even the Supreme Court has in its interim order directed the ONGC to pay crude oil royalty to Gujarat on pre-discounted crude price beginning from February 1, 2014,” he said adding Assam has been denied this right. (PTI)
