A division bench of Sindh High Court comprising Chief Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany and Justice Salman Hamid on Tuesday passed stay order against two-day a week suspension of gas to CNG fillings stations by Sui Southern Gas Company Limited. A notice was also issued to the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Resources, Sui Southern Gas Company Ltd and Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority for December 29, 2010.
All Pakistan CNG Stations Association''s Sindh and Balochistan Zones challenged notification issued by SSGC dated December 14, 2010 regarding two days a week gas loadshedding to CNG stations in two provinces. According to SSGC notification, SSGC was facing severe shortage of gas and in order to maintain Load Management Programme, it had decided gas supply to CNG station will remain suspended for two days a week.
The practice will go on till February 14, 2010. Earlier, while hearing petition on similar point, SHC on June 18, 2010 stayed the government directive for weekly closure of CNG stations across the province, ordering uninterrupted gas supply to them.
The counsel for petitioner submitted that SSGC received its gas from fields in Sindh and Balochistan. Sindh was the only exporter of natural gas to all other provinces, as it produces about 71.7 percent of total natural gas in the country while it consumed only 35pc of its total production. He said that CNG stations operating in Sindh and Balochistan were being discriminated due to which huge losses were being suffered by CNG station operators. Besides, citizens were also exposed to great hardships.
The counsel prayed the court to suspend operation of SSGC notification & weekly suspension of gas to stations as violation of relevant laws and regulations. The SHC division bench after preliminary hearing issued notice to the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Resources, Sui Southern Gas Company Ltd and Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority for December 29, 2010. Till then it stayed operation of impugned notification issued by SSGC.