Addressing the media here he said, subsidy to any sector was a policy decision, which was supposed to be taken by the State Government. However, ``You are welcome to give a gift. But please buy it. Do not steal it,'' he remarked.

The Minister said asking industries to share additional burden if the state government decided to supply free power to farmers was unviable, as industries would collapse. The Minister pointed out that the farmers in Tamil Nadu were getting free power, but the government was paying for it every month.

Kumarmangalam advised Chief Minister Manohar Joshi and his deputy, Munde, to sort out differences over the issue since airing the same in public or in the media would affectthe government's image.

He said, the Centre had cleared three major power projects in private sectors in Maharashtra including Patalganga, Bhadravati and Dabhol phase II besides several small projects. Describing the power position in Maharashtra as satisfactory, the Minister said Maharashtra would have surplus power within the next three to four years and it could be good income-earning industry.

Kumarmangalam said the power position in the southern states including Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu was not satisfactory. He said the situation in Karnataka was alarming in the absence of qualitative network and infrastructure.

Stating that the power situation at the national level was critical when the Vajpayee government took over, Kumaramangalam said power generation had increased by 11.8 per cent against the increase in demand by 12.4 per cent. He said the government had cleared three major power projects in private sectors including Bhadrvati, Vishakhapatnam and Neyveli, which has been pendingclearance for the past six years.

He said the achievement of his ministry could be judged from the fact that increase in power generation was 10.7 per cent against the four-to-five per cent industrial growth. Kumaramangalam said the nation would require 1.20 lakh mw power by the end of 2010 and each megawatt would require an investment of Rs 4 crore.

When asked about nuclear power generation, the Minister said the nuclear option was good but it would require massive funds. He said the previous government had imposed an unwritten ban on the nuclear option, which his government had lifted. The Minister also said it would be very difficult to raise the funds for the nuclear option from the international market.

Answering a question on whether the government still intends to recommend dissolution of the Bihar Assembly, the Minister said the Supreme Court had restricted the Central Government while using Article 356. Suggesting a national debate on Article 356, Kumarmangalam said the President's rejection ofthe government's decision would send wrong signals to the people. He feared that people would believe that there was no constitutional remedy for lawlessness and would search for other options.