Umar against revising UFG benchmark

Umar points out that any increase in the UFG will be against the Articles 9,14 and 38 of the Constitution.

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf lawmaker Asad Umar moved the Supreme Court on Thursday, requesting it to restrain the ministry of petroleum from increasing UFG (unaccounted for gas) benchmark from 4.5 per cent to 9 per cent, otherwise people will suffer badly.

On July 2, 2014, the petroleum ministry had submitted a summary to the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) for policy guidelines under section 21 of OGRA Ordinance 2002 for UFG benchmark for 2012-13 and 2013-14, respectively. The petitioner claimed that the summary was illegal for so many reasons, calling the increase a violation of the SC’s verdict dated Nov 25, 2011.

Umar pointed out that any increase in the UFG will be against the Articles 9,14 and 38 of the Constitution, which guarantee the rights of people. “Ogra is just playing the role of a subsidiary department of the ministry of petroleum,” said the PTI MNA.

In an energy-deficient country like Pakistan, he said, gas worth over $2 billion is leaked or stolen due to high UFG. “This gas leakage and theft, if controlled, can reduce the shortage and fulfil the gas demand,” he added. According to Umar, the control of UFG is the key to survival of the country’s industrial strength. The gas utilities performance in terms of controlling UFG is criminal as people of Pakistan are being forced to pay for all these inefficiencies.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 11^th, 2014.