While a stay has been sought over the new Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) Production and Distribution) Policy 2011, the country is likely to face acute shortage of LPG in the coming months.
As the demand of gas and LPG in up-country especially in remote and hilly areas have started increasing, the country would be facing acute shortage of fuel from next month. Talking to Profit, Muhammad Irfan Khokhar, Chairman LPG Distributors Association of Pakistan said no one has so far planned to import LPG for November to overcome fuel shortage, which would worsen by atleast 800 tonnes by the second week of next month. It is also expected that domestic price of the product would take a further hit by this shortage and rise phenomenally. The profiteers in the LPG sector, he claimed, have also started hoarding the much needed fuel to sell it at a higher price during the winter season. According to Khokhar, as the LPG Policy 2011 remained unimplemented due to a court’s stay order, the highly consumed gas would be costlier in the country compared to international market.
With the expected shortage of around 1000 tonnes, the hoarding and blackmailing tactics of profiteers, the sufferings of poverty stricken people of the remote and underdeveloped areas are expected to multiply. The LPG was currently being sold at Rs95 per kilogram, Rs100 to 105 /kg and Rs145/kg in Sindh, Punjab and Gilgit Baltistan/Swat etc respectively.
He demanded from the Ministry of Petroleum, Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) respectively that an immediate arrangement for import of LPG was needed to avoid the expected shortage of the commodity coupled with a significant price hike.
He further demanded the concerned authorities to establish a monitoring cell to control the prices and ensure uninterrupted supply of the fuel to the hilly areas. The implementation of policy adopted in 2006 was also needed to maintain the local price.
However, according to sources, the Senate’s standing committee was also likely to discuss the new LPG policy in its meeting to be held on November 2. It is worth mentioning here that the Supreme Court, this month refused to vacate a stay of Lahore High Court (LHC) which has suspended certain clauses of the new LPG (Production and Distribution) Policy 2011.
The Lahore High Court, on October 3, suspended operation of certain clauses of the policy and on October 6 further extended the stay period. It was pleaded in the court that it has been made binding for all the LPG license holders to import 20 per cent of LPG. Ogra will impose petroleum levy to change the price and it would have a negative impact on the common man. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources, earlier, had claimed that the new policy was based on the principle of parity of price for local and imported LPG. The policy has taken away the market manipulation power of local LPG mafia and the ultimate benefit of this price parity will go to general public. Moreover, the companies with import based businesses would be very competitive thus saving the general public from the LPG cartels.
