This was indicated by officials of the ministry of petroleum and natural gas during Budget consultation meetings with officers of the finance ministry and the Planning Commission recently. For 2001-02, the BPCL has sought an outlay of Rs 440 crore as against an estimated Rs 880 crore in the current fiscal.

The schemes which have been weeded out by the BPCL include setting up of a product terminal at Kochi (Rs 175 crore), development of a deep draft jetty and a terminal at Mundra (Rs 150 crore) and LPG import facilities at Paradeep (Rs 120 crore).

The other projects which have been shelved are establishment of hydrant refuelling system at Chennai airport, setting up of bitumen import facilities, POL jetty at Kandla for independent power producers and import-handling facilities at Hazira.

As per the indications, BPCL's outlay for the Ninth Plan period will significantly fall short of the approved outlay. According to sources, the Ninth Plan outlay for the company was fixed at Rs 6,540 crore. However, the actual investment during the five-year period ending March 31, 2002, was likely to be around Rs 2,600 crore.

For the year 2000-01, the government approved Rs 460 crore, which is estimated to go up to Rs 880 crore. Much of the investments, however, are on account of honouring the decisions taken by the government. The BPCL has to account for Rs 172.56 crore to pick up IBP's 19 per cent equity in the Numaligarh Refinery and Rs 377 crore for buying 55 per cent government equity in the Kochi Refineries Ltd.