New Delhi: The union government yesterday said that it would continue to administer the prices of sensitive petroleum products such as diesel, LPG and kerosene even though a decision to dismantle the Administered Price Mechanism (APM) for the oil sector came into force on April 1, 2002.

Speaking at the Economic Editors'' Conference, petroleum minister Mani Shankar Aiyar said, "Was there ever an APM dismantling? Only an announcement was made. Was it ever dismantled for kerosene and LPG? And since January 1, 2004, the government was dictating even petrol and diesel prices."

He said, "We have been far more honest in saying that the government will control prices of cooking and auto fuels." The UPA government had hiked diesel, petrol and LPG prices on June 15, the first in 2004, and then attempted to set prices within a band, thereby giving limited freedom to oil companies to revise prices. But, the band had to be abandoned due to continuous rise in international crude prices, he noted.

"Instead of pretending that the APM has been dismantled, we accept that in the present circumstances, the government has to have a major role in determining what the fuel prices are," he said, adding that prices would be fixed keeping in mind economic and social considerations.