Thaindian News

New Delhi, May 7 (IANS) Reliance Natural Resources chairman Anil Ambani Friday said the Supreme Court verdict on Krishna-Godavari gas dispute safeguarded the interests of his group’s 11 million shareholders and ruled out any review petition for the moment.
Addressing a teleconference, he said the apex court has made it clear the gas supply and pricing arrangement with Reliance Industries must be suitable to both parties, adding he now looks forward to an expeditious and successful re-negotiation within six weeks.

Ambani was reacting to the judgment of the Supreme Court that has ordered re-negotiation of the agreement on natural gas from the fields off the Andhra Pradesh coast between the two Reliance groups within six weeks, based on the government’s policy on the subject.

A three-member bench of Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, Justice B. Sudershan Reddy and Justice P. Sathasivam also asked Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries and Anil Ambani-led Reliance Natural Resources to place the new agreement before the company bench of the Bombay High Court.

“While giving the guidelines for an expeditious finalisation of the gas supply agreement between Reliance Industries and Reliance Natural Resources, by majority judgment, the honourable Supreme Court has upheld Reliance Natural Resources’ case,” said Ambani.

“The honourable Supreme Court has upheld the memorandum of understanding signed on June 18, 2005, served as the backdrop for the scheme, and is the guiding force and the basis of the scheme of arrangements for business reorganisation of Reliance Industries.”

The 50-year-old industrialist said his group remained committed to emerging as India’s largest power producer with fast-track execution of over 35,000 MW of greenfield power projects and would continue to work for all-round development of the country’s energy sector.

“Reliance Power’s gas-based power projects would provide 8,000 MW of clean, green power and the government of India has already, rightly, recognised that consumption of natural gas for the power sector has the second-highest priority for the nation as per its gas utilisation policy,” Ambani said.

He also thanked the 11 million shareholders of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Group for their “unflinching support and commitment over these very difficult and trying past nearly five years” apart from its 150,00 employees and his own family.