KARACHI: CNG dealers associations and a transporters body on Wednesday announced closure of their businesses on Dec 31 to protest against the proposed increase in gas prices and month-long shutdown of CNG stations.
Following this decision, CNG stations will be shut for two consecutive days (i.e. Friday and Saturday) just after a daylong gap as CNG stations had already been shut on Wednesday under a gas load management programme of the Sui Southern Gas Company.
The decision was taken at a meeting of All-Pakistan CNG Association, CNG Dealers’ Association and other stakeholders after a protest demonstration was staged outside the YMCA premises against frequent shutdowns of CNG stations.
Announcing their support for the protest call, Karachi Transport Ittehad president Irshad Bukhari said all public transport vehicles — whether they run on gas, petrol or diesel — would remain off the road on Dec 31 in order to restrain the government from taking steps against CNG stations.
Ghias Abdullah Paracha, central chairman of the All-Pakistan CNG Association, hoped that commuters would also express their serious concern over what he described as ‘a systematic conspiracy to rollback the CNG industry’.
The dealers blamed Federal Minister for Power Petroleum and Natural Resources Dr Asim Hussain for undermining CNG business to the advantage of other petroleum dealers.
“Talks were under way with the owners of other fuel stations in the region to convince them to also keep their businesses closed on Dec 31,” said Kashif Riaz, the Sindh zone secretary general of the All Pakistan CNG Association.
Mr Paracha said that the conspiracy was hatched at the highest level to destroy the CNG industry; firstly by depriving the industry of the only raw material it had and secondly by bringing CNG prices on a par with petroleum products.
“The CNG sector consumes just seven per cent of the gas produced in the country and despite this low ratio of consumption, the sector is frequently deprived of gas under the pretext that there is countrywide shortfall of gas.”
He said that CNG was an inexpensive and environment-friendly fuel that helped middle and lower middle class families to commute. Yet several steps and policies were announced in quick succession in order to cripple the CNG sector, he added.
He said that in case the government went ahead with its plan to increase CNG prices, Pakistan would be selling CNG at the world’s highest cost despite the fact that globally the country had the largest number of vehicles on gas.
Infrastructure levy rejected The association’s central leader also rejected the proposed move to impose gas infrastructure development levy on CNG business. He said the government wanted to collect Rs11.5 billion by imposing this new tax on an industry which had already been facing serious hardships due to frequent shutdowns of gas supply.
“The CNG industry has been contributing billions of rupees to the national exchequer in the form of massive taxes but despite this contribution, survival of the industry is at stake.”
Yet the CNG associations sensed their national obligation regarding passengers’ safety and announced a programme with government support to set up centres on a countrywide scale for checking commercial vehicles using CNG to clear defects, Mr Paracha said.
He added that in the first instance, 25 such vehicle checking centres would be set up in the country to check intercity transport carriers using CNG and this task was expected to complete within three months.
After creating a shortfall of gas on the nationwide scale, the government wanted to import LNG at a very high cost, he said, adding that this scandal would rock the government as much as the rental power plants scam did.
CNG Dealers’ Association chief Abdul Sami Khan said that while in other countries the government provided subsides for the industry and businesses performing the CNG conversion work due to its positive impact on environment, here the CNG industry was badly neglected and made to suffer due to ill-advised policies of the government.
He said that CNG associations and transporters should maintain unity to combat conspiracies and policies against their business so to safeguard the vital public interest. He also advised CNG stations of the region to do away the practice of offering various prices for CNG and maintain uniformity and equality in doing the business.
Irshad Bukhari of the KTI said that there had been an unprecedented rise in diesel prices over the last four years, compelling public transport owners to get their vehicles converted to CNG fuel.
He said that in most cases of fuel conversion, transport owners borrowed money on harsh terms and conditions and it was now financially impossible for them to switch back to the costly diesel option.
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