ISLAMABAD: As many as 3,240 people have lost their lives in explosions caused by substandard liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders over the past 11 years, yet the government and the regulatory body have been reluctant to act against the influential groups manufacturing the substandard containers, LPG Distributors Association chairperson Irfan Khokhar said at a news conference on Thursday.

Seven workers hired for the Orange Line Metro Train project in Lahore died in a blaze on Wednesday that erupted after a substandard LPG cylinder exploded on the third floor of a building they were residing in.

The LPG Distributors Association chairperson announced that they would launch a protest against the government and the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) if they did not act to stop the manufacture of substandard cylinders in 10 days. He said they would stage a sit-in outside the Ogra building and also approach courts in this regard.

A delegation of the LPG Distributors Association met Ogra representatives on Thursday to demand that the regulator take stern action in the light of deaths caused by LPG cylinder blasts. Mr Khokhar said that the association had demanded amendments to the law that would make manufacturing substandard LPG cylinders a non-bailable offence.

Since Ogra was responsible for issuing licences to manufacture LPG cylinders, it was duty-bound to clamp down on those making substandard cylinders, he said, adding that it was a travesty that the government and Ogra were silent on the matter even as people continued to die from explosions caused by low-grade cylinders.

Mr Khokhar warned that they would file a case against the regulatory body if it remained unmoved over the next 10 days. He said the association had been protesting since 2006 against the freehand given to low-grade cylinder manufacturers, adding that 3,240 people had lost their lives since then, but no action has been taken so far.

He alleged that Ogra had issued licences to companies making substandard cylinders but was not willing to take action against the politically influential culprits. He said that around 400 companies in Gujranwala manufactured gas cylinders, most of them substandard.

In reply a question, he said the LPG sector would be regulated when there was no gap in supply and demand of LPG. The government had received nearly Rs42 billion in the financial year ending June 30, 2016, from the sale of an estimated 12 million metric tonnes of LPG, he said, adding that the revenue could cross Rs100 billion in 2017 if the government adopted a fair LPG import and production policy.

Mr Khokhar demanded that the LPG sector be recognised as an industry and that an import policy for it be introduced in order to stabilise prices in the domestic market. If the government removed GST and 5.5 per cent advance tax on LPG imports, the commodity would be available to consumers for less than Rs80 per kg and a cylinder for Rs900, instead of the current rate of Rs120 per kg and Rs1,350 per cylinder weighing 11.8kg, he elaborated.

Such a policy would allow the government to control the rising price of LPG mostly used in rural areas, he said. Based on data of the last five years, Mr Khokhar said, gas imports had led to a fall in domestic prices.

Commenting on Mr Khokhar’s remarks to the media, Imran Ghaznavi, a spokesperson for Ogra, said the regulatory body’s meeting with the LPG association had been cordial and that their suggestions had been well received.

He said the delegation was told that the authority would look into their recommendations and take necessary steps against those manufacturing substandard cylinders, as and when required according to provisions in the Ogra Ordinance, the requisite policy and rules. He said he would not comment on political statements made after the meeting.

Published in Dawn, January 13th, 2017