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Our Bureau

Hyderabad , May 2

ANDHRA Pradesh will have a gas grid put in place connecting all the districts when Reliance and ONGC (Oil and Natural Gas Corporation) get ready for producing "enough gas" for industrial use by the end of 2007 or early 2008.

Addressing a FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry) meeting here on Monday, the Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, said the Centre might come up with a regulatory mechanism to take care of issues related to gas.

The Prime Minster, Dr Manmohan Singh, had positively responded to the State's proposal for such a mechanism. This was to ensure reasonable prices.

"We will see to it that prices are reasonable. To ensure this, we need to have a regulator," he said.

He said the State would emerge as the largest producer of natural gas in the country.

Giving reasons for the staggered growth, he said the State had failed to give a push to the manufacturing sector.

Also, the growth in agricultural sector was less than one per cent for the last 10 years.

Stating that industrial investments into the State had decreased to Rs 4,500 crore during 2000-05 from Rs 11,500 crore during 1996-2000, he asked the FICCI members to help reverse the trend.

The Chief Minister said the textiles and apparel sectors could generate 10 lakh jobs, mostly to women.

Referring to a question, he said the Government would bring down the T&D (transmission and distribution) threshold of 28 per cent for wind power players to "a single digit".

Answering a question by Mr K.K. Modi of Godfrey Phillips on allowing contract farming to an extent in tobacco sector, the Chief Minister said he would take up the issue with the Tobacco Board.

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