Circular debt gives birth to another crisis

So apparently, it was all Ogra's fault. At least this is what the interim report of the committee set up to determine causes of the ugly petrol crisis, has to say. Yes Ogra should share the blame, but cannot be blamed entirely. It is to be quizzed over why not it kept an eye on the stock position. But certainly, just labelling Ogra the culprit and moving on, would not serve the purpose.
It is difficult to see the Finance Minister, Ishaq Dar being found guilty or even partly responsible, now when he had the audacity to term the whole crisis a "conspiracy". But when the finance ministry has long been involved in day-to-day affairs of the energy sector, Dar being present in almost every energy related presentation made to the PM, Dar being at the forefront of clearing the circular debt stock, he cannot acquit himself saying it was a conspiracy.
At the root of all this mess lies the dreaded 'C' word - circular debt. Yes, the supply chain and all can take part of the blame, but the crisis would not have aggravated to where it has, had the devil of circular debt not been here. It persists, stronger and uglier than ever before. This is despite the effort in the name of clearing the stock right after government assumed office in 2013.
The shortfall according to reports has crossed Rs500 billion, virtually back to square one. And the resurgence is even worse considering it has all been accumulated in just over a year. The inefficiencies in the system have been let to slip as the Rs500 billion doles out induced complacency. The tariff differential subsidies are again in danger of being overrun. The delays caused in payments to the IPPs, which in turn start a chain are new to none. What has been done to rectify this? Sadly, nothing more than lip service.
There is no need to remind what needs to be done to eradicate the inter-corporate circular debt. There is a need to remind though, that heads should roll once the dust settles. It should also alert the policymakers to fix the loopholes.
Monthly pricing for POL products may have worked when OMCs were making windfall returns, it won't work now. The demand and supply anticipation and planning that previously used to be done by OCAC committee, needs to be done more vigilantly by whoever is deemed fit. It is a collective responsibility and should be taken as such right away.