The offer was made by NDDB chairman Dr V Kurien when he met Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel and Civil Supplies Minister Jaspal Singh here today. The three discussed short-term measures to meet the situation arising out of the rising groundnut oil prices. Patel and Singh accepted Kurien's proposal. The three also decided to government and NDDB will work out the price of edible mustard oil.

Later, during a chat with mediapersons, Singh vehemently refuted newspaper reports hat groundnut oil had vanished from the Rajkot markets. ``The reports are baseless, and aimed at creating panic among consumers'', he said.

Singh claimed that groundnut oil was available at Rs 47 a kg in the open market and said: ``This was confirmed when I talked to district supply officers in Rajkot and Amreli over phone today.'' The oil millers of Saurashtra at the Saturday meeting in Rajkot had made a ``gentleman promise'' to me to voluntarily slash the prices from Rs 51 a kg to Rs 47'', Singh said, sounding a warning that stern action would be taken against those violating the understanding.

Singh will visit Delhi in the next couple of days and is expected to meet Union Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha and rquest him to slash the 25 per cent import duty on palmolein to enable the State Government to sell it at the subsidised rates through fair price shops.

Singh said about 6,000 MTs of palmolein would be imported by the month end, while as much would arrive in August. Besides, 36,000 MTs will be imported through State Trading Corporation (STC) by August end. The distribution will help ease the situation, he said.

To a query, Singh said at present at least 2.25 lakh MTs of groundnut was stocked by farmers all over the State, besides the summer crop accounting for at least 70,000 MTs of groundnut was expected this year.

Asked, the minister declined to comment on the controversy raging between him and and the Chief Minister over the rising prices of groundnut oil and only said: ``I have full faith in the Chief Minister. He is captain of the ship in which I am sailing. I have to follow his policy.''