KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said on Tuesday the provision of natural gas connections to politically selected areas at the cost of gas-producing Sindh province was a source of discontent and ‘detrimental to national harmony’.

In a letter he wrote to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the chief minister said: “I am writing with reference to [the] widely reported news related to provision of 97 natural gas projects worth more than Rs37 billion, mostly located in Punjab, by relaxing moratorium on expansion of such schemes.”

Mr Shah said the expansion of new gas network in Punjab, which produced just about three per cent of gas but consumed over 42pc of the total gas produced in the country, was in complete disregard of Article 158 of the Constitution which accorded priority to the province where the well head was situated.

He deplored in his letter that currently, the Sui Southern Gas Company was not entertaining any request for provision of gas to new consumers — both in urban and rural areas of Sindh — citing moratorium imposed by the federal government.

“The company has even declined supply of gas to the Khairpur Special Economic Zone (SEZ) which is Pakistan’s first industrial park with SEZ status under SEZ Act, 2012. Similarly, it has also refused to supply gas to nine small industrial estates in different parts of Sindh province for which the Government of Sindh has already paid to SSGC.”

The letter said that in urban centres of Sindh, thousands of applications for domestic connections were lying pending, while in the rural areas the SSGC was still trying to complete the schemes funded by the Sindh government in 2012.

The chief minister recalled that the last meeting of the Council of Common Interests on Dec16, 2016, had constituted a committee headed by the federal law minister to interpret constitutional provisions, including Article 158.

He added the committee held its meeting on March 3, 2017, and decided to submit policy for consideration of the CCI to implement the Article 158.

Mr Shah said the provision of natural gas connections to politically selected areas at the cost of the gas-producing province “is a source of discontent and is also detrimental for national harmony.”

He went on: “I, therefore, request you to please direct Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Resources to implement Article 158 of the Constitution in letter and spirit and refrain from diverting natural gas from Sindh,” urging the prime minister to remove the unilaterally imposed moratorium and direct the SSGC to provide gas connections to all domestic, industrial and commercial sectors in Sindh.

“I earnestly look forward for a positive response in this matter of national importance, please!” the letter concluded.

Published in Dawn, March 29th, 2017