LAHORE, Jan 8: Recommendations will be made to the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) to cancel the licenses of marketing companies selling liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) at higher than the prices fixed by the authority.

“The individuals or companies involved either in black-marketing or hoarding of LPG would be dealt with sternly,” District Nazim Mian Amer said while presiding over a meeting at Jinnah Hall on Tuesday.

However, Mian Amer asked the distributors to display the LPG rate list at their shops prominently.

Assuring all-out support to the district government in this behalf, LPG Distribution Association of Pakistan Chairman Irfan Khokhar and office-bearers Hadi Khan and Bilal Ahmad besides Rickshaw Drivers Union Chairman Asghar Khan Mahmand and other representatives requested Mian Amer to order stoppage of the crackdown on distributors.

“The distributors are getting gas cylinders between Rs875 to Rs1,000 each. How can they sell an 11-kilo cylinder at the price fixed by Ogra when they are already paying Rs314 extra to the marketing companies?” they maintained.

Mian Amer agreed to their assertion and directed District Coordination Officer Mian Ijaz to convene a meeting of the marketing companies on Wednesday (today) to resolve the issue.

The district nazim announced that all rickshaw drivers would be provided free of cost health facilities at the Government Mozang Hospital on production of their licence in original.

Irfan Khokhar later told Dawn that the had so far nabbed 191 traders police on the charges of black-marketing.

“The police have booked around 80 distributors while allowed the rest to go after extorting between Rs2,000 and Rs5,000. We are with the district government but this injustice should come to an end immediately. We have ample stocks of LPG in the country and I wonder where the gas has gone,” Irfan added.