Taking action: 78 mills, CNG stations booked for Rs1.6b gas theft

They were charged by govt for theft amounting to over Rs10m each.

ISLAMABAD:

The government has booked owners of around 78 industrial mills and compressed natural gas (CNG) stations over stealing gas worth Rs1.6 billion between November 2009 and December 2012.

They were booked for gas pilferage amounting to over Rs10 million each. Out of the total, 36 are industrial units and the remaining 42 are CNG stations located in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

Sheikhupura in Punjab topped the list, with 16 people booked for stealing gas worth Rs384.98 million in total. The government has so far recovered Rs272.5 million out of that amount.

According to the official list tabled before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) has recovered Rs1.14 billion from consumers involved in gas theft out of the total liabilities of Rs1.6 billion. The majority of the entities alleged to have committed the theft are based in Faisalabad and Lahore.

A copy of the list, which was made available to The Express Tribune, showed that Galaxy Textile Mill in Faisalabad was booked for stealing gas amounting to Rs26.2 million. The mill is owned by the husband of Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar. However, SNGPL recovered the full amount from the mill.



As many as nine industrial units in Faisalabad – including ghee, fibre and spinning mills – were found to be stealing gas. These include Be Be Jan Fibers (Pvt) Ltd, Asif Bilal Fibers Ltd and Al Saif. Eight units paid back the money owed, whereas Al Saif has still to pay Rs18.11 million.

In Lahore, SNGPL charged 12 entities with stealing gas amounting to Rs266.53 million. Eight were industrial units and the remaining were CNG stations. Malik JP’s & Sons (Pvt) Ltd was involved in gas theft worth Rs40.11 million. The firm has paid back Rs28.11 million out of that amount.

Another firm involved in pilfering gas was Imam Din Steel Mills, which was required to pay Rs38.28 million. It has paid back Rs28.909 million.

In Gujranwala, 10 CNG stations stole gas worth Rs185 million. The gas utility has so far recovered only Rs24.708 million, whereas the remaining amount of Rs160.29 million is still in arrears.

Another 11 were charged in Islamabad with stealing gas worth Rs313.71 million. Three out of these were industrial units. Among them, Margala Textile Mills was held responsible for gas theft amounting to Rs73.7 million. However, it paid back the full amount. The remaining eight were owners of CNG stations.

In Peshawar, a further eight businesses were found to be stealing gas.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 9^th, 2013.

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