Govt urged to extend relief to LPG consumers
Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) Distributors Association has urged the government on Monday to take measures for provision of gas at affordable prices to consumers who are already grappling to make ends meet.
“An increase in LPG price, which is also illegal, is like a thunderbolt for the consumers who hardly meet basic expenses of their households, so government should work out remedial measures to arrest the unbridled trend in LPG prices which are on rising trajectory these days,” said LPG Association’s Secretary Irsalan Khokar.
He said the association had prepared a summary spelling out approach to offset shocks in LPG market and maintain the commodity’s price at affordable range for the consumers throughout the year.
He said several rounds of the meetings were held with concerned officials and the next one in the series would take place with Petroleum Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi soon to discuss the guidelines and proposals to thrash out strategy for implementation.
Since the government feared bad impression in case prices touched last year’s level of Rs 270 per kg, proactive efforts were being witnessed on the part of government officials, he said.
He said that the current local production stood at 1,600 tonnes per day and its demand had soared to 3,000 tonnes per day, necessitating for the government to extend relief to consumers.
He said the demand was likely to further exceed if domestic gas sector was not well-supplied in peak winter season.
He was of the view that hefty duties and taxes on LPG import was an impediment to the government’s efforts to ensure its stocks at adequate level, thus policymakers should revive matters on this front as well.
He said that OGRA had fallen short of playing its role and the LPG policy binding marketing companies to import certain per cent of quota was flouted as most of the companies did not venture into import business, leading to widening supply and demand gap of LPG in the country.
Lately, marketing companies increased price of Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) by Rs 8 per kg with domestic cylinder’s price rising by Rs 100 and commercial cylinder’s by Rs 400 at a time when its demand had started to swell and clod continues to intensify.