CNG pricing: OGRA formula declared null and void

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan (SC) has announced its verdict in the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) pricing case and declared the pricing formula presented by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) null and void, Geo News reported Friday.

A two-member bench of the apex court, comprising Justice Jawwad S Khawaja and Justice Khilji Arif Hussain, had reserved the verdict after hearing the parties concerned on Thursday.

While announcing the judgment today, the SC declared the pricing formula prepared by the OGRA illegal, and ordered the authority to formulate new guidelines to fix CNG prices following the directives provided by the federal government.

The interim order stated that the price of CNG was not in accordance with the law and would remain unchanged until a new formula was prepared.

According to the order, the government was responsible for determining price, while it was the responsibility of the judiciary to protect the rights of citizens.

The SC also pointed out that the price of per kilo of CNG increased from Rs 33 in 2008 to Rs 95 in 2012, adding that pricing structure included exorbitant additional charges due to which millions of people were affected.

The court remarked that OGRA has failed in protecting the rights of the customers, and the CNG cartel exploited the rights of the people with the help of the government.

On Thursday Ghiyasudin Paracha, Chairman All Pakistan CNG Association (APCNGA), while talking to reporters outside the court had demanded the government to reduce the price of gas as well as tax besides increasing the pressure to gas stations and end loadshedding.