Lucknow: Amid the skyrocketing price of petroleum products across the nation, Union Minister Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri assured that the price of the product will reduce as the Organisation Of The Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has decided to bring more crude oil into the market.
Speaking with ETV Bharat in Lucknow on Tuesday, the Union Minister said "OPEC Plus is talking to about bring more oil into the market. If production increases, then prices will come down. We are also increasing our reserves. We are taking all the necessary steps."
He added, "When the economic activities all over the world were halted due to Corona the price of oil rose to $ 19 in March 2020. With increasing economic activity today, the price of crude oil in the international market is $ 78 per barrel."
The prices of petrol and diesel have increased tremendously in the last few years. CNG has also become very expensive. Explaining the reason behind the rising price of petroleum products, Singh said that the NDA government is paying a maturity amount of Rs20,000 crores for oil bonds signed by the UPA government during their tenure to control the price hike.
"In 2010, the Congress government de-regularised petrol. To control the rising prices, Congress signed oil bonds worth 1 lakh 40 thousand crores with a maturity plan of 15 years. After the maturity of the plan in 2020, we have started re-payment for that and the interest of that amount is 20,000 crores which we are paying since last year," Singh said.
The minister further said "the central government takes only 32 rupees for one litre. With these 32 rupees, ninety crore people were given three meals a day for a year. More than 90 crore vaccines were distributed free of cost. Under the housing scheme, 1 lakh 17 thousand houses were approved. You should ask the state government about inflation. Recently this topic was brought up in the GST Council, but the states were not ready for it. We are concerned and will talk to the state governments."
When asked about the progress of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, the minister said the success has been achieved.
Puri said "Before we started work on Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban), UPA demanded assessment, probably to sanction 1 crore houses. When we revised the demand assessment it became 1 crore 12 lakh. Every basic facility has been maintained in the house. I can proudly say that we have already approved 1 crore 13 lakhs.
"Look at the Uttar Pradesh Figure. The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana has started in June 2015, since then Akhilesh Yadav's government (till 2017) had received a demand for only 20,000 houses. Right now 11 lakh houses have been grounded here and 8 lakh have been given. Between 2004 and 2014, the UPA government spent 1 lakh 57 thousand crores on all the central schemes. Modi's government from June 2015 till date has spent 11 lakh 83 thousand crores on central schemes, increasing 7 times in 6 years."
Speaking over the Lakhimpur Kheri clash Singh said "whatever happened there is sadness. I think that a hardworking farmer does not burn his tractor by coming to the Rajpath, They do not burn their crops. The UP Chief Minister has said that action will be taken against the guilty."
