The petroleum ministry has framed a Cabinet note listing 12 approvals it would need to dismantle the administered pricing mechanism (APM) in the hydrocarbon sector on April 1.
The first approval sought by the ministry concerns liquidation of cumulative outstanding towards oil companies by issuing bonds to the extent of 80 per cent of the oil pool deficit and to liquidate the balance after obtaining special audit of the pool account.
The ministry has also sought the permission to abolish the Oil Coordination Committee (OCC) from April 1. It has proposed to send all the OCC employees back to their parent organisations once the committee is wound up.
The ministry also wants to set up a professional body to help it administer subsidies on PDS kerosene and domestic LPG after April 1, to administer freight subsidy to far-flung areas, to maintain information data bank and communications system to deal with emergencies, to analyse trends in the international oil market and the import and export management, and to operationalise sector-specific surcharge schemes, besides rendering other functions.
The ministry has also sought the Cabinet
