Justice Baqar urges PM Kakar to allocate rightful portion of natural gas to Sindh for smooth industrial activities
Imran
KARACHI Caretaker Sindh Chief Minister Justice (Retd)
Maqbool Baqar has urged Prime Minister Anwar-ul-Haq to allocate Sindh its
rightful portion of natural gas under Article 158 of the Constitution, so that
the industrial and business activities in the province may be carried out
smoothly.
In a DO letter addressed to the prime minister, CM Baqar
said that Sindh was facing an acute shortage of gas in all industrial zones,
first, due to its complete closure for two days every week (Saturday and Sunday)
and secondly, because of deplorably low pressure for the remaining days.
The CM pointed out that the situation has crippled the
industrial and business activities in the province. “The industrial and
business community has been imploring an uninterrupted supply of gas with full
pressure; however, there has been no favourable response from the concerned
authorities,” he told the PM and said that since the foreign exchange reserves
of Pakistan have already dipped to $12.302 billion, the shortage of gas has
only aggravated this situation as exporters are unable to meet the deadlines.
According to the excerpt of the letter, the CM told the
prime minister that Article 158 of the Constitution was quite clear that the
first right of usage of gas was for that province where it is produced: the
province of Sindh generates 65 per cent of the total gas of the country. He
said that in previous years, 211 mmcfd gas was allotted to SNGP instead of SSGC
in violation of Article 158, which should now be diverted back to SSGC.
The CM urged the PM that the production from new wells
was being allotted in violation of the historical practice of a 50:50 ratio
that was the allocation of Mari Field. “Sindh is also being compelled to buy
RLNG (imported gas) which is violative of the Constitution, because the
province is not obligated to offer gas to other provinces, except what is
available as surplus,” the CM said.
Justice Baqar urged the prime minister that the closure
of gas for two days a week (Saturday and Sunday) in all industrial zones may be
done away with, and uninterrupted gas with full pressure be ensured. He said
that Sindh may be provided its due share of natural gas as constitution so that
industrial and business activities could flourish.
The interim CM urged the caretaker prime minister to
direct the concerned authorities to resolve the serious issue of gas in the
larger interest of the province.
