PESHAWAR: Ministry asked to submit comments in three days: Gas supply to Kohat, Karak
Bureau Report
PESHAWAR, Aug 7: The Peshawar High Court on Tuesday directed the ministry of petroleum and natural resources and the NWFP government to submit within three days comments in a writ petition seeking supply of natural gas to Kohat, Karak and other parts of the NWFP from the gas well-heads situated there.
A two-member bench comprising Justice Dost Mohammad Khan and Justice Saleem Khan warned that this would be the last chance given to the two respondents and if they failed to file comments within three days they would lose their right to defence.
The bench took exception to the non-compliance of the court order by the two respondents in a writ petition filed by Kohat District Nazim Gohar Saifullah and 20 union council nazims, seeking directives from the high court to the federal government and authorities concerned for the provision of natural gas to their areas on priority.
The court also took exception to the non-appearance of the attorney-general of Pakistan and ordered that on the next date of hearing if the AG was not present then the deputy attorney-general should argue the case.
The court fixed September 18 for the next hearing.
During the last hearing on June 19, the court had asked the respondents to positively file comments. Senior advocate Iftikhar Hussain Gillani appeared for the petitioners and contended that the two respondents had been delaying the matter by not filing the comments.
Deputy Attorney-General Salahuddin Khan and the additional advocate-general Khushdil Khan appeared for the federal and provincial governments, respectively.
The respondents are the federal government, through the secretary of the ministry of petroleum and natural resources, the NWFP chief secretary, Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) and MOL Pakistan Oil and Gas Company in Karak.
The petitioners said that there were three functioning oil and gas fields in Karak and Kohat districts – Gurguri, Makori and Chanda – while Mella was under development.
They said that under the constitution gas had to be supplied to the province in which it was explored on the priority basis.
“Article 158 of the Constitution states that the province in which a well-head of natural gas is situated shall have precedence over other parts of Pakistan in meeting the requirements from that well-head, subject to the commitments and obligations as on the commencing day,” they added.
They said that the projected output capacity of the facilities was 382 million cubic feet (mcf) per day against the total requirement of Kohat of 10 mcf and the NWFP of 295 mcf.
The petitioners said that under the petroleum exploration and production policy read with the petroleum concessions agreement 2001, the companies and the government had to provide gas to local people, undertake other social programmes in the region and give preference in jobs to local residents.
They said that the respondents should make arrangements for laying the required infrastructure.
They claimed that the commercial supply to other provinces from the wells had started two years back which was injustice to the province and the people of the area.
