Gas problem

Communist Party of India leader Gurudas Dasgupta last week became the unwitting reason for some musical chairs among top bureaucrats in the petroleum ministry. Earlier this month Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily had Giridhar Aramana, the joint secretary in charge of gas pricing, transferred. Soon after, Petroleum Secretary Vivek Rae wrote the minister a letter asking him to revoke the decision. To no avail; on August 14, the gas pricing portfolio was re-allocated to another joint secretary. Within hours, however, an order came returning the portfolio to Aramana. The proximate cause, it appears, is a public interest litigation on gas pricing filed by Dasgupta. Until that issue is resolved, ministry officials said, Aramana would retain the portfolio because he has the most knowledge of the intricacies of gas pricing.