Tuesday, May 9 2006 16:14 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Government will hold consultations with leaders of the left parties, allies of the ruling UPA, on the issue of petroleum product prices even as Petroleum Minister Murli Deora disfavoured increasing LPG and kerosene prices.

After a meeting with the Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, Deora told reporters that CPM Politburo member Sitaram Yechuri, Left MPs Gurudas Das Gupta and Dipankar Mukherjee will meet by tomorrow and discuss the oil scenario in the wake of hardening of international prices.

"We could not talk to left parties as they were busy in state elections. Now we will discuss. It will be our endeavor not to hike prices particularly of cooking gas and kerosene as these are used by poor strata of the society and common man," Deora said.

Asked about reports that the Cabinet would discuss the issue of price hike of petroleum products particularly of petrol and diesel by Rs 2-3 a litre, Deora said no such issue was on the agenda today.

Deora said that his ministry was studying the report of Rangarajan Committe on the Petroleum product pricing even as the proposed meeting between the Petroleum Secretary M S Srinivasan and his counterpart in Finance Ministry Adarsh Kishore was deferred yesterday.

The meeting between the top officials of the two ministries could now be held in the next couple of days on a possible hike in petrol and diesel prices to offset the Rs 75,000 crore revenue losses projected for oil companies in the wake of soaring international prices.

During the meeting Srinivasan is expected to seek cut in import and excise duties and raising of subsidies on cooking fuel as measures to help oil firms.

On cards is a Rs 2-3 per litre hike in petrol and diesel prices and Rs 15-20 increase per LPG cylinder, but a decision would be taken only after consultations with allies including the Left.

State-owned oil retailing firms are losing Rs 9.34 per litre on selling petrol below the imported cost while the loss on diesel was Rs 10.43 a litre. Kerosene was being sold at a loss of Rs 16.78 per litre and LPG at Rs 220 per cylinder loss, according to officials.

State-run Indian refiners have been unable to raise government-capped retail fuel prices since September last year, despite the surge in crude oil prices to record 75 dollars a barrel.

The non-revision of retail prices of petroleum products by the government is expected to lead to under-recoveries of an estimated Rs 75,000 crore by oil marketing companies in 2006-07.