The time has finally come for the government to take some tough decisions if it wants to save the industrial, fertiliser and CNG sectors. It must increase the price of gas for domestic users in order to discourage increasing consumption. However, this decision will be particularly difficult, with little chances of adoption by the government. With elections around the corner, the government will avoid initiatives that lose public support.
However, in the whole episode, the CNG sector falls direct victim to gas shortage. The CNG sector of the country is being constantly criticised by other sectors. Their actions betray an understanding that CNG use is not for important transportation purposes. Thus the supply to CNG stations should be halted or the price of CNG made expensive that people opt for petrol or diesel.
These sectors including textile, fertilisers, power and other industry are pushing the government for making gas expensive for automobile users and save gas from the CNG sector. Their view seems to incorporate the belief that CNG for public use does not amount to productive use of the commodity. However, they forget that there is no public transport system in the country, which can provide an alternative to the commuters. Recently, in a meeting of All Pakistan Textile Mills (APTMA), I heard a top office-bearer saying that textile sector is a golden mine for the government, which has earned huge foreign exchange through it. He was of the view that CNG sector should be closed or at least gas should be made expensive. But I was astonished that the gentleman has installed CNG kit in his own, very expensive, car. It is a strange phenomenon that people purchase a five million rupees car but always install a CNG kit in it.
I think the government should opt for increasing the price for CNG sector but at the same time it should keep in mind that there is no viable public transport system in any city of the country. People have to travel through buses, taxis and rickshaws and all of these vehicles are not sufficient to cater to the large population. Therefore, people use personal vehicles. That is not all. We save annually at least $1.5 billion by not importing petrol only because of CNG. The Federal Board of Revenue earns Rs25 billion annually from the sector; people have spent at least Rs70 billion for converting their vehicles to CNG; at least Rs200 billion is being injected in the business while 2.5 million vehicles are running on it. It will be an unjust decision of making CNG expensive, therefore the government should opt for other ways of saving gas. One of such idea is to make gas expensive for domestic users, and cut down on wastage.
According to Economic Survey of Pakistan, out of total available gas by SNGPL in the country, the CNG sector consumes 10 per cent, domestic consumers take 40 per cent, power sector takes 19 per cent, fertilisers seven percent, general industry like textile 20 per cent and commercial users take four percent. It is clearly evident that domestic users are the real problem for SNGPL and SSGC and they consume most of the available gas.
It is a usual practice that domestic consumers are running generators on gas during in times of load shedding, further aggravating the situation of gas shortage. I will not push the government for increasing price in the first two slabs of the domestic users, as in this way the poor of the country would suffer but at least it should think seriously of imposing penalties on consumers using generators. It should make the gas very expensive for users, who are running generators. As this is the only way of saving ourselves from the coming gas crisis and also save our industry and agriculture sector.
The writer is Commerce Reporter, Pakistan Today
