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ISLAMABAD Admitting its failure to check the malpractices of oil and gas retailers, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority has now asked consumers to lodge complaints against the irregularities of the CNG, LPG and petrol stations.
The authority has never taken any action on numerous complaints filed against petrol stations for creating artificial shortage and stop selling petrol or diesel ahead of an anticipated hike in POL prices.
The authority has also failed to curb price manipulation. Customers with receipts approached Dawn saying that these filling stations were charging new price even before the notification was issued.
Petroleum dealers acknowledged that the malpractice was being committed by few dealers, but Ogra seems reluctant to take them to task.
However, a spokesman for Ogra said that the authority had already framed a Complaint Resolution Procedure Regulations 2003 under which any complaint with regard to CNG, LPG and natural gas can be lodged with the Ogra Registrar.
Meanwhile, the LPG distributors slammed the authority for failing to check the unprecedented increase in LPG prices.
'LPG companies have raised prices for three times only in August and more can be expected before Eidul Fitr as there is no regulatory check on prices,' said Chairman LPG Distributors Association Irfan Khokhar and added that the LPG producers reduced prices by Rs2 per kg on August 3, while the LPG marketing companies raised prices by Rs9 per kg in the same month.
The Ogra spokesman said that the authority was publishing advertisements from time-to-time for the awareness of general public with regard to the lodging of complaints pertaining to the CNG, LPG and natural gas sector. 'The consumers can download complaint forms both in English and Urdu from Ogra's website (www.ogra.org.pk).'
The CNG and LPG dealers told Dawn that the authority did not pay any attention to the complaints and wrongdoings by the industry players. 'The authority has not taken any action against stations involved in gas thefts,' said former chairman of CNG Dealers Association Tariq Kandan.
However, the Ogra spokesman said that the authority through its third party inspectors also conducted surprise inspections of various CNG stations.
