August 26, 2008	Tuesday	Sha'aban 23, 1429

ISLAMABAD, Aug 25: The government decided on Monday to withdraw a decision to regulate CNG prices through the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) after CNG dealers agreed to reduce retail prices by about Rs2.75 per kg with immediate effect.

An agreement to this effect was reached at a meeting of three associations of CNG dealers with officials of the Ministry of Finance and Ogra.

The CNG dealers later called on Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and thanked him for allowing them to fix prices own without any regulatory supervision.

The meeting, however, did not take any decision about higher prices (Rs48.36 per kg) the CNG operators have been charging for two months.

The Economic Coordination Committee had last month decided to authorise Ogra to regulate CNG prices after the operators unilaterally increased the prices by Rs13 per kg to Rs48.36.

Interestingly, the decision was withdrawn without going back to the ECC or the cabinet. Under the rules of procedure, an ECC decision could only be rescinded by the ECC itself or overruled by the federal cabinet.

Under the agreement, dealers will sell CNG at Rs45.50 per kg in the NWFP, Balochistan and Punjab’s Potohar region and at Rs44.50 in Sindh and Punjab, excluding Rawalpindi, Islamabad and Gujarkhan in the Potohar region.