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.
