PESHAWAR, April 15: The Sarhad CNG Association, a body representing CNG station owners, has threatened to close gas stations if the Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited does not reduce gas prices.

Speaking at a news conference at the press club here on Saturday, SCA chairman Javed Anwar held the federal government responsible for the unprecedented rise in gas prices during the last three months.

He claimed that due to the continuous rise in gas prices, CNG station owners were paying 50 per cent of their sales in the shape of gas bills.

He said 200 CNG stations faced a crisis-like situation owing to the increase in prices of natural gas, which was the main ingredient to run their business. “Each year, we pay Rs1,440 million as revenue to the SNGPL, Rs560 million as sales tax and Rs250 million as direct tax to the government,” he said.

Mr Anwar said 5,000 workers were directly employed by gas stations and 25,000 others were associated with the facility across the province. He said gas stations were main job providers in the private sector but the government was not paying any heed to problems of owners.

After the launch of the CNG facility, the NWFP had been saving Rs4,000 billion as foreign exchange, which was spent by the centre on import of petroleum in the past, he claimed.

He said they had enquired time and again from officials of the SNGPL about the rise in natural gas prices but they knew nothing about decisions taken in Islamabad.

He claimed that prices of natural gas were stable in other provinces.

Mr Anwar said owing to what he called unwise policies of the government, CNG service stations were about to collapse in the NWFP which already lagged behind in providing jobs to people.

The introduction of CNG as alternative fuel had contributed towards the safety of environment in the Frontier province but arbitrary decisions by the petroleum ministry would ruin both the business and environment here, he added.

He demanded that the government should withdraw increase in gas prices forthwith, otherwise the association would close down the stations.