Under Article 4 of the agreement (PSC) between the Central Government and Reliance regarding the KG-D6 block of natural gas, relinquishment of areas at the end of each Phase of Exploration is mandatory and it cannot be subject to the whims and fancies of Ministers and officials. Relinquishment under the PSC is intended to put the contractors under pressure to carry out exploration speedily and efficient so that areas remaining inadequately explored could be taken back by the government and put to re-auction in a competitive environment in order that the public benefits may get maximised.
The UPA Government has consistently defaulted on implementing the PSC and Reliance was allowed to enter phase 3 without relinquishing any part of the field, when it ought to have relinquished almost 86% of their area. Mr. V K Sibal (former DGH) colluded with Reliance and allowed them to retain the entire area. An FIR against Mr. Sibal is pending with the Delhi anti-corruption branch.
Even at this late stage, Shri R N Choubey (DGH) reviewed the entire issue and demanded the relinquishment of 6497.12 sq km of the area from Reliance that includes the area of D29, D30 and D31 reserves. DGH had given detailed reasons why the said area needs to be relinquished as per the PSC.
Reliance disputed this and stated that it be allowed to retain D29, D30 and D31 reserves. Mr. Moily has now overruled the DGH and his own officers at the Ministry by stating that there is a difference of opinion on the issue between the contractor (Reliance) and the DGH, and a “balanced view” needs to be taken (Annexure G).
After the Ministry tried to unfairly blame the DGH on this issue, Shri Choubey as DGH wrote a strongly worded letter to the Ministry defending its position and virtually blaming the Ministry for its incorrect reading of the PSC (Annexure H).
Now, immediately after this, the UPA Government and Mr. Moily has got Shri Choubey removed as the DGH and has appointed a new DGH. This shows the extent to which the Government can go to help their favourite company Reliance.
All the events above confirm what Mr. Mukesh Ambani had told Mr. Ranajan Bhatacharya as evidenced in the Radia tapes, that Congress is his own dukaan.
The views expressed are of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)
About Mr. R.N. Choubey: Mr. R.N. Choubey, the former Director General, Directorate General of Hydrocarbons is an officer from Indian Administrative Services, 1981 batch. Sri Choubey had taken over the charge of Director General, Directorate General of Hydrocarbons to oversee the management of upstream exploration and production acreages in India. It is a big challenge to manage the upstream E&P policies and its implementation for an energy deficient country like India which is dependent on more than 80% imports for its energy requirement. There are also challenges for acceleration in exploration pace in India.
Mr. Choubey has a vast experience in administration of Land and Revenue management, rural development, department of Industries, Textiles, Finance & planning and many other departments/ ministries during his postings in the state of Tamilnadu and Delhi. He has also served as Principal Advisor in Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), which had been set up with a vision to create and nurture conditions for growth of telecommunications in the country in a manner and at a pace which will enable India to play a leading role in emerging global information society.
The work of Mr. Choubey helped TRAI to provide a fair and transparent policy environment which promotes a level playing field and facilitates with fair competition.
