The government has decided to release Rs 22,000-crore subsidy in cash to the fertiliser industry this fiscal, apart from the budgetary allocation of Rs 32,000 crore, chemicals and fertiliser minister Ram Vilas Paswan said here today. "Total fertiliser subsidy is estimated to be Rs 1.19 lakh crore in 2008-09 while we have made available Rs 54,000 crore cash payment to the industry,' Paswan told reporters here. He disclosed that the finance ministry was not prepared for the Rs 22,000-crore-subsidy in cash. It was of the view that subsidy be paid to banks through bonds. But banks were not willing as they would have to sell the bonds at a discount since companies would have got the payment in cash. Paswan said the step has been taken as an interim measure for three months till the first supplementary was passed in Parliament. Asked whether the entire subsidy would be paid in cash, Paswan said there would be no financial problems to the companies and the government has ensured that they would receive the money even if there was a delay. Paswan said: "We are buying urea at Rs 26,000 a tonne while selling to farmers at Rs 4,830 a tonne.' Similarly, the government is buying DAP at Rs 56,000 a tonne while selling it at Rs 9,300 a tonne and potash at Rs 36,000 a tonne against Rs 4,800 per tonne, he added. The subsidy bill is going up as the government is bearing the burden of the gap between actual cost and selling rate of these fertilisers. Paswan also said the gas availability was a larger issue, which the government was handling. But, whenever gas would come from both domestic and global sources, there would be no shortage and it was expected that it would be achieved by 2010, he added. The eGoM has already decided to give top priority to the fertiliser sector in allocation of gas, Paswan said, adding the revival of closed plants depend on gas availability. "We require a total of 95 mmscmd gas for the fertiliser plants, including the eight closed units. Out of our current requirement of 41 mmscmd for the gas-based units, we are getting 29 mmscmd,' he said. He stated that 70 per cent of total fertiliser plants were gas-based and they used only 30 per cent subsidy. The remaining plants run on naptha and receive 70 per cent subsidy. The minister said the Department of Fertilisers was preparing a Cabinet note for allowing private sector participation in the revival of closed units like Haldia. "Our intention is to revive the units. If there is no possibility of reviving a unit through a public sector company, the private sector should be allowed through joint-venture,' he said. Paswan also said FAGMIL was looking at producing gypsum at the PPCL unit in Sasaram district in Bihar, currently lying closed.