Keeping oil prices low has stressed govt: Deora

New Delhi, Sep 13: Keeping lower prices of household fuel like kerosene and LPG, has placed enormous financial burden on the government, Petroleum Minister Murli Deora today said .

''As a result funding for other social projects aimed at primary education, improving maternal health and combating diseases is suffering,'' Mr Deora said at the OPEC meeting in Vienna.

He said being life energy fuels, their affordability is a key to reduce energy cost and place larger income in the hands of the citizens.

''The government in India finds that concept of market determined prices for these fuels is unsustainable particularly when market determined means high prices,'' he added.

The rural population mainly use keorsene for lighting and cooking and sometimes bio mass which is polluting.

In the urban areas it is LPG and access to these household fuels at affordable prices not empowers women by providing them a cleaner environment and reducing the need to collect fuel while ensuring environmental sustainability.

He said India's import bill is likely to shoot up from about 21 billion dollars in 2003-04 to about 66 billion dollars in 2006-07.

''Collectively we would have paid an additional 45 billion dollars in 2006-07 for oil imports,''. These funds could have been utilised for social causes, he said.

He said petroleum and development are irretrievably inter-linked.

Access to affordable energy is key to sustianable development.

The Common Minimum Programme of the UPA government, Mr Deora said is committed to making available energy at affordable prices.

''In India we have ensured life energy fuels namely keorsene and LPG remain reasonably priced,'' Mr Deora said.

UNI