Guj units seek Patel govt's intervention in APM gas supply row

South Gujarat Small Gas Consumer Association today sought the intervention of Gujarat government in the matter of 58 per cent supply cut of natural gas, which has forced them to curtail production.
At the interactive Meet held here in connection with 'Vibrant Gujarat 2015', the Association petitioned visiting chief minister Anandi Patel and industries minister Saurabh Patel seeking their intervention in connection with the 58 per cent cut in the supply of Administered Price Mechanism (APM) Gas.
These small industries in South Gujarat, which were forced to shut few lines in their plants following GAIL cutting supplies of administered price or APM gas, have accused the state-owned firm of arbitrariness and selective targeting as supplies to similar units in other states have not been touched. On the other hand, GAIL India has said it slashed gas supplies on oil ministry orders.

Most of the 33 industrial units based in South Gujarat are in the power intensive glass & ceramic manufacturing and have been located in the remote regions of that state due to the availability of APM gas. This cut has put on stake the livelihood of 30,000 direct and about 1,20,000 indirect workers employed in these units, they said, adding that some of the companies have already shut part of their production.
"The Gujarat leaders gave us a patient hearing. Gujarat has a proactive government which responds to business problems. We are hopeful that a solution would be found quickly so that our production, exports and employment are not affected," Piramal Enterprises Vice Chairperson Dr Swati Piramal, who is leading the group, told PTI.

These 33 industrial units, including Piramal Glass Ltd, have a total turnover of Rs 10,000 crore and exports of around Rs 1,000 crore. The production cut due to gas shortage has hit these local units badly, Piramal said.

"The South Gujarat Industries consume only 0.5 MMSCMD of gas as against a total allocation of 60 MMSCMD of APM Gas. If applied equitably across all consumers of APM gas, then the cut would be just 0.5 per cent across the consumers.
"Keeping aside the gas for the priority sector, an equitable cut across the balance consumers would be 4 per cent to 5 per cent, she said.

Most of the South Gujarat industries were established during the era when there were no takers for natural gas in the isolated fields of Gujarat. They set up units in the remote and difficult areas with the assurance of low price gas as source of energy.
"These energy intensive industries cannot afford to replace the APM gas with the commercial gas as it is priced four times higher. This would make the units unviable and go against the 'Make in India' programme of Prime Minister, Narendra Modi," Piramal said.