Make details on RIL gas issue public: Former Secy to Govt

NEW DELHI: Seeking a public disclosure of all financial and technical details on the RIL gas issue, a former bureaucrat has asked the government to allow a public debate on the matter to deal with the catastrophe-like situation emerging due to the tussle between the Ambani brothers.

In the midst of the ongoing legal battle between the two industrialist brothers, as also their public spat, former Power Secretary E A S Sarma in a letter addressed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has also warned that a higher price fixed by the government for the gas could not only lead to greater profits for RIL, but also an additional subsidy burden for the government.

When contacted, Sarma told media that he had written a series of letters to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other government functionaries since 2006 and had warned of a catastrophe-like situation, the Ambani brothers' dispute, but did not receive a response.

"... the natural gas is the property of the people of India. Its pricing should have been entrusted to the statutory regulator but the relevant law has been drafted unsatisfactorily," said Sarma, who had been Secretary (Power) and Secretary (Expenditure) with the Government of India and also Adviser (Energy), Planning Commission. He was also member, Gas Pricing Committee.