Lpg Marketers Get Breather From Govt

In a major sop to parallel marketers of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), the government has decided to do away with the statutory investment of Rs 2,000 crore in the petroleum sector for them.

This implies that the parallel marketers can now import LPG and market it as auto fuel in the country.

As per a 1997 Cabinet decision, only those investing Rs 2,000 crore in the oil sector could retail auto fuels like petrol and diesel in the country once the administered pricing mechanism is dismantled in the oil sector after March 31, 2002. Since the government has now decided to allow use of LPG also as auto fuel, this condition would have normally applied to its marketers as well.

In fact, the draft Bill prepared by the government also lists this investment as a pre-condition for allowing parallel marketers to retail LPG as auto fuel. With the change in the government's decision, the draft Bill will also have to be revised now.

The parallel marketers have been agitating for long over the low returns on their investment. The major six integrated LPG companies in the private sector