The move follows an order to this effect by Petroleum Minister V Ramamurthy last March -- the order, however, was not implemented. No such orders have been passed for private sector companies, whose officials continue to be found in the Ministry. The private sector officials do not have identity cards, but have no difficulty in accessing the Ministry.

Following last week's surrender of photo-identity cards, only the heads of these PSUs and some board-level directors will be given photo-identity cards to enter the Ministry.

Interestingly, since a large part of this so-called liaisoning by oil PSU officials is really to collect their mail such as that relating to Parliament questions, andto service other requests emanating from the Ministry, the Ministry has passed separate orders relating to this aspect.

A separate order issued by the ministry a few days after the one on photo-identities, has made it mandatory that one officer from each of the 12 oil PSUs will spend a few hours, once or twice a week, in the Ministry to deal with the replies or requests made by various VIPs such as the members of Parliament.

So, if for example, a Member of Parliament wishes to have an LPG agency allotted to someone from his constituency, he will naturally send this to the Ministry. The Ministry, then needs some official from IOC or HPCL to be there, to take a decision on the matter urgently. Interestingly, the additional secretary in the Ministry had taken a meeting on this recently, and it was ordered that the office of co-ordination of oil companies in Delhi should be more active in liaisoning with these very companies and the Ministry!

What's even more ironic is that while PSU officials have beenstopped from entering the Ministry, these very PSUs are routinely asked to provide cars to various bureaucrats, as well as pick up various bills relating to entertainment and other expenses.

Just a few weeks ago, The Indian Express, had reported how the Minister had put pressure on various oil PSUs to contribute a total of around Rs 2 crore towards setting up schools in his constituency, Salem. Invitation cards for the event were sent out in the name of an executive director of IOC, and all the chiefs of top oil PSUs -- ONGC, IOC, HPCL, BPCL, IBP and Madras Refineries -- were to attend the function, and pledge their support towards this cause.

And some months prior to this, one of the oil companies was asked to spend several lakhs to refurbish the room of the minister of state -- since he didn't like the colour the first time around, the room had to be painted once again!

While it has now become almost routine for oil PSUs to pick up such tabs for the Ministry, officials recall how in the late'70s, a CBI case was registered against a joint secretary since an oil PSU picked up an entertainment bill of Rs 232 for him. It was only after the Secretary wrote that the official had entertained a foreign oil company official after seeking his permission, was the enquiry dropped.

How to please a VIP

Petroleum inister Vazhappadi Ramamurthy has asked his Ministry to accord the greatest priority to such requests from VIPs. Accordingly, a meeting was recently called by an Additional Secretary in the Ministry, to discuss the modalities of how such `references' -- generally, a request for an LPG or a kerosene outlet, or even a petrol pump -- are to be dealt with. An outline of the procedures to be followed, the books to be maintained, and the deadlines to be prescribed are given below: