Fertiliser subsidy: Gowda for CBI probe

NEW DELHI: Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda has accused the fertiliser industry of causing a subsidy scam and demanded a CBI probe to book those "robbing the national exchequer" in the name of farmers.
In a letter to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, he said "such an inquiry will expose the domestic fertiliser units which have been abusing the retention price scheme and enjoying ''vintage allowance'' which is a classic example of unfair enrichment".
He said the fertiliser industry lobby saw to it that vintage allowance was paid even after 1997 despite recommendation of a committee of secretaries to the contrary.
When the Government decided to discontinue it, the industry put pressure to refer the matter to a Group of Ministers headed by Planning Commission Deputy Chairman K C Pant, Gowda claimed.
The former Premier said he has also written to Pant, who heads the GoM to formulate policy norms for urea plants during 1997-2003, asking him not to yield to any "pressure of the domestic fertiliser industry on the issue of vintage allowance".