In order to deal with the knotty issue of pricing of gas from Reliance Industries’ KG basin field, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has constituted an empowered group of ministers (EGoM). Headed by external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee, the EGoM is expected to give its decision in 15-20 days.

According to sources, the ministers of power, fertilisers, finance and law are likely to be on this EGoM. Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and corporate affairs minister Prem Chand Gupta might be other members. The EgoM, which will hold its first meeting this week, would take a final decision on the formula and pricing of gas. Earlier, after going through presentations made by various stakeholders, a committee of secretaries (CoS) had submitted a 33-page report on the issue. It had laid out various options, stated the advantages and disadvantages of each, and suggested to the Prime Ministers’ Office (PMO) to examine the issue carefully before giving a nod for any gas price formula.

Reliance had proposed a gas price of $4.33 per million British thermal unit (mbtu) to $4.58 per mbtu. But stakeholders in the fertiliser and power sectors opposed these rates and the formula behind it, saying it had been arrived at without calling for various expressions of interest from consumers.