NEW DELHI, NOV 17: The Government may partially rollback the recent hike in kerosene and LPG prices by Sunday, apparently under pressure from Trinamool Congress chief and Union Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee.As rollback of petroleum prices tops the agenda of the NDA meeting on November 19 - the eve of start of Parliament session - a decision thus, is expected on Sunday night itself when Petroleum Minister Ram Naik returns to the capital.However, according to sources, the Government is unlikely to touch the diesel and petrol prices. It could reduce the LPG prices by Rs 5 to 10 per cylinder and kerosene prices by 50 paise to Re 1 per litre, causing a loss of upto Rs 600 crore to the state exchequer during the current financial year.Any rollback of petroleum price hike can not be an economic decision, it has to be dealt with politically, Naik, who is opposed to the rollback, said recently, leaving the final decision to the Prime Minister. Mamata had met Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee while he was recuperating from knee surgery in Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai. She met him again on his return from Mumbai and was reportedly assured that ``something would be done regarding her demand''.Vajpayee's assurance could probably be one of the reasons for Mamata's optimism regarding the rollback. ``I have full faith in the Prime Minister and I am hopeful that he will do something,'' she told reporters today.The Railway Minister has been demanding a rollback ever since the Government hiked the price of oil products on September 29. She had even resigned from the Union Cabinet, only to withdraw it later on the assurance that Vajpayee would consider her demands after his knee surgery.Meanwhile, officials in Petroleum Ministry have been busy trying out various permutations and combinations to minimise the financial loss likely to be caused due to the rollback. The hike may be cut either by reducing excise and custom duties on petroleum products or by further burdening the oil pool account (OPA).The OPA which, before the price hike, was expected to grow upto Rs 24,000 crore by March 31 next year, had been contained to a maximum limit of Rs 13,500 crore by increasing the prices. Any cut, coupled with the recent spurt in oil prices in international market, will have a telling effect on the OPA, the sources added.Lowering the diesel prices by Re 1 per litre would mean increasing the OPA by Rs 2500 crore. Similarly, a cut of Rs 10 in LPG will cost the OPA Rs 400 crore and a reduction in kerosene prices by Re 1, will mean escalation of Rs 200 crore in the OPA.Though the Petroleum Ministry had decided to completely wipe out subsidy on petroleum products in a phased manner by March 2002, it was still providing a subsidy of Rs 137 per cylinder of LPG, Rs 4 per litre of kerosene and Rs 3.50 per litre of diesel. The petrol on the other hand, was being sold at Rs four more than the price on which it was being imported, sources said.
