Fulfilling quota: SNGPL asked to ensure gas supply to Hazara

PHC division bench issues stay on quota, issues notices to the federation, K-P oil and gas dept, SNGPL

ABBOTTABAD: As residents continue to suffer from low gas pressure and closed fuel pumps due to an acute shortage of gas, the Abbottabad bench of the Peshawar High Court on Thursday directed the Federation of Pakistan to ensure the supply of gas to Hazara Division in accordance with the agreed quotas.

PHC Abbottabad bench Justice Qalandar Ali Khan heard a constitutional petition filed under Article 199 by senior lawyer and Hazara Qaumi Mahaz Chairman Qazi Muhammad Azhar, Zulqarnain Jadoon and Naheed Gul Abbasi.

Representing the petitioners, Advocate Masoodur Rehman Awan, told the court that gas pressure for Hazara Division had been fixed at 419 MMHG by Sui Northern Gas Public Limited (SNGPL). He claimed that the region was only getting 90 MMHG.

Owing to the drastic cut in supply, thousands of domestic, commercial and industrial consumers were affected. The counsel added that in some areas, consumers were facing low pressure, while in other areas, complete suspension of gas supply had become routine for several days.

He referred to Article 158 of the Constitution while saying that residents of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa have priority share from the gas the province produces. K-P contributes 17% of the total output of the country, but only consumes around eight per cent of total production, he said.

Claiming that the federal government had made an arbitrary cut in K-P’s share of gas, Awan referred to a PHC judgment from 2011 where the court had exempted K-P from gas loadshedding. Awan argued that by cutting Hazara’s quota, the federation had committed contempt of court.

After hearing arguments from both sides, the court granted a stay on the quotas while directing the respondents to ensure supply of gas to Hazara in line with the fixed quota.

The court also issued a notice to the federation through the K-P Oil and Gas secretary, the SNGPL managing director, and the SNGPL Hazara regional manager to appear before the court on January 23 for further arguments.

Last week, K-P Chief Minister’s Adviser for Information Mushtaq Ghani had accused the federal government of cutting gas supply to Hazara Division.

SNGPL Regional Manager Mukhtar Hussain Shah, however, told The Express Tribune that no cuts had been made, rather, he claimed that due to the cold weather, demand had increased manifold and was now causing shortages.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 20^th, 2017.