Industrial gas supply: SHC orders government to first meet Sindh’s needs

Petitioner says SSGC bound to supply 257 mmfcd gas to KESC, court orders government to constitutional provisions.

KARACHI: Disposing of two identical constitutional petitions filed by Site Association of Industry and other associations regarding load shedding in Karachi due to short supply of natural gas to KESC, a division bench of High Court of Sindh (SHC) ordered the federal and provincial government to “ adhere to the provisions of the Article 158 of the Constitution of Pakistan.” The bench reproduced the said Article in its order which carries heading “Priority of requirement of natural gas” and says that “Province in which a well head of natural gas is situated shall have the precedence over other parts of the Pakistan in meeting the requirement from the well head...”.

The bench in its short order said that reasons would be recorded later. Earlier the bench heard the counsel for petitioner associations, garment and hosiery manufacturers and others besides the deputy attorney general and the additional advocate general.

The petitioner moving the court maintained that SSGC is bound to supply 257 MMCFD gas supply to the KESC for its power generating stations. It was also alleged at one stage that SSGC is selling natural gas to SNGPL causing short fall in supply to Sindh and resultant load shedding by now private power utility, KESC.

SSGC in a previous hearing in reply to the allegation of contempt of court and disregard of the SHC order maintained that it was the federal government which controls the well head and thus the supply and that SSGC never sold gas to SNGPL.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 14^th, 2011.