The Supreme Court (SC) on Monday maintained the old price of compressed natural gas (CNG) and directed the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) to come up with a new policy until December 5 for adjusting gas price after involving all stakeholders. A three-member SC bench comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Gulzar Ahmed and Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed resumed hearing of a plea moved by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Iqbal Zafar Jhagra clubbed with a report submitted by Justice (r) Rana Bhagwandas over CNG and petroleum prices. During the hearing, the CJP remarked that OGRA granted licences to CNG station owners and also determined CNG prices according to their desire, which was unprecedented. He said that the adjustment of CNG prices was the duty of OGRA and not of the Supreme Court. “The law demands levying taxes on the CNG,” he added. He said the government had cancelled illegal and unauthorised licences of CNG stations, and this action had reduced CNG prices. Earlier during the proceedings, OGRA Chairman Saeed Ahmad submitted an audit report of the CNG stations that suggested the CNG price at Rs 74 per kilogramme.OGRA’s counsel Salman Akram Raja said that after the cancellation of the memorandum of understanding between CNG station owners and OGRA, no policy existed now regarding fixation of CNG prices. The OGRA issues licences to CNG stations only after they fulfil its requirements, he added. He said that most of the CNG licences were issued during 2004-05, while none had been granted after 2008. He said OGRA was conducting a detailed survey of CNG stations for introducing an appropriate policy to adjust CNG prices. The petitioner’s counsel apprised the court that OGRA sets the CNG price, which he said was not reasonable, adding that the CNG stations had already been overcharging. Abdul Hafeez Pirzada, counsel for the CNG Association, pleaded that the CNG station owners had to bear 90 per cent burden of the reduction in CNG prices. They are forced to continue their business despite incurring loss, he added. The bench adjourned further hearing of the case until December 5.
