Fuel: Proposal to freeze prices turned down

ISLAMABAD:

Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources has turned down Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority’s (Ogra) proposal to freeze fuel prices for six months in a bid to provide relief to consumers in the back drop of high volatility in global oil prices.

“Oil prices have surged by 21 per cent in 2012 alone due to geo-political situation and ever-increasing global demand,” reads a proposal letter Ogra sent to the ministry.

“Ogra is a regulator and not a body to propose policies,” a senior official of the petroleum ministry said adding that the model proposed by the authority would have resulted in huge subsidy that the government could not afford.

Ogra informed that India has not revised domestic oil prices for an extended period to protect the common man. The Indian government provided INR970 million in subsidy during April to December 2011 to keep prices stable.

“In order to protect the common man from further inflationary pressure and provide macro-economic stability, it is suggested that the federal government freezes prices,” the letter adds.

Meanwhile, National Assembly Standing Committee on Petroleum Chairman Sardar Talib Hussain Nakai appreciated the proposal and said that it would be discussed in next meeting of the committee while talking to journalists after the NA body’s meeting on Thursday.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 13^th, 2012.