SHC orders OGRA to fix CNG rates
PHOTO: FILE
The Sindh High Court ordered on Tuesday the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) to fix the rates for CNG while disposing of a plea seeking a reduction in CNG price.
A two-member bench, comprising Justice Omar Sial and Justice Zulfiqar Ali Sangi, was hearing the case.
The petitioner maintained in the plea that OGRA and the Sui Southern Gas Company had not submitted any reply on the issue for the past three months, claiming that Pakistan had to import petroleum products but CNG was produced locally and it was being sold for higher prices.
The plea moved the court to reduce the CNG price.
The court ordered the OGRA to fix the price of CNG and issue clear orders on the matter.
Illegal connections
The same bench directed K-Electric (KE) to sever illegal connections in Haji Lemoon Goth, Gulshan-e-Iqbal in collaboration with East district municipal corporation (DMC) during the hearing of a plea seeking the removal of illegal connections from the locality.
The petitioner's counsel maintained that KE was doing unannounced loadshedding for 12 hours in the said area due to the illegal connections. The disruption in power supply has also damaged a few of the residents' home appliances, he added.
The court asked why were there so many illegal connections in the area, adding that it seemed like East DMC was involved in electricity theft in the locality.
The representative of the KE maintained that area locals did not allow the workers of the power utility company to remove the illegal connections.
The court directed KE to remove the illegal connections from Haji Lemoon Goth in collaboration with East DMC and ordered the parties to appear before the court in personal capacity on July 8.
Contempt of court plea
Meanwhile, the court issued notices over a contempt of court plea filed against the Cantonment Board Faisal (CBF) and other authorities for not razing a crumbling building in Gulistan-e-Johar despite court orders obliging them to demolish the structure.
The petitioner's counsel maintained that the building was owned by a Mubina Town Police sub inspector and he had warned the area residents against razing the structure.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 1st, 2020.