January 31, 2014
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday sought a comprehensive report from Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) regarding licenses issued to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) stations from 2005 to date. A single-member bench comprising Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui resumed the hearing of a contempt petition filed by 77 CNG station owners against SNGPL officials for not allowing them to operate despite court's directions.
The court also asked the government to brief it about the policy on the basis of which CNG transport had been permitted to operate. During the course of proceedings, counsel for the Federation, Khawaja Farooq, apprised the court that it was not necessary to bring the matter of gas distribution formula in the Council of Common Interest (CCI) as the CCI's role is to create harmony among provinces and federal government. He further contended that none of the provinces had raised any objection on the gas distribution formula; however, the matter was brought to the court by the CNG station owners.
He told the court that the gas supply to hundreds of CNG stations was suspended due to gas shortage, the however, owners of few CNG stations were making a hue and cry over the issue. He said other sectors are supporting the government at this critical juncture, adding that no one made any statement when the gas supply to power and agricultural sector was curtailed.
He alleged the CNG stations owners were defaulter of gas companies. He said that they have not paid their outstanding dues to gas companies despite the fact that they are earning millions of rupees. He contended that domestic consumers were being badly hit due to gas supply to CNG stations. Earlier, the counsel for the petitioner Advocate Mugheeb Khan apprised the court that 70 percent people, including transporters and passengers, were affected by the closure of CNG stations.
The CNG station owners spent millions of rupees to establish their businesses. He asked how the government could now roll-back their businesses by issuing a notification. He pleaded that compensation should be given to CNG station owners for the days when gas supply remain suspended.
Hundreds of thousands people converted their vehicles to CNG through spending huge amounts of money and now the government had suspended gas supply to CNG stations, leaving them in a situation where they had no better alternative, he further pleaded. The court adjourned the proceedings of case till today (Friday).
Licences to CNG stations: IHC seeks report from Ogra | Business Recorder
