ISLAMABAD: Senate Standing Committee on Petroleum on Friday took up matters of RLNG tariff rates being charged from domestic consumers of Ragi Model Town, Peshawar; safety measures for coal mine workers, merger and absorption of employees of Lakhra Coal Development Company, and implementation status of the recommendation made by the Committee regarding cancellation of lease agreements No 109 and 151/8 by the PMDC Collieries Office Sharigh, District Harnai, Balochistan.
The Senate Standing Committee on Petroleum meeting was held on Friday at the Parliament House presided over by Senator Mohsin Aziz.
The meeting was informed that charging of the RLNG tariff instead of natural gas tariff from domestic consumers was due to increasing gas shortfall, the then prime minister's directive dated 18 April, 2011, imposed moratorium on all new gas connections across the country for a period of six months, which was further extended in October, 2011.
It was agreed that natural gas through the Sui gas transmission system will not be provided to high-rise buildings and new housing schemes. These will be encouraged to energise their customers through the LPG, the LNG and Alternate Energy Sources.
The SNGPL informed the Committee that as per policy in vogue, Regi Model Town, Peshawar was being provided RLNG-based gas connections. As a consequence of this decision, the Committee was further informed that consumers were being billed heavily.
Majority of the residents of Regi Model Town are pensioners, who cannot afford exorbitant charges. The Committee took serious notice of the issue. The matter, it asserted, must be reviewed by the OGRA, and decision must be taken after in-depth analysis.
The Committee asserted that the decision was taken by the Cabinet. Chairman Committee Senator Mohsin Aziz directed that the decision must be revisited by the SNGPL Board, and the issue would be taken up by the Committee after 15 days.
Discussing the progress on implementation status of the recommendation made by the Committee regarding measures for safety of coal mine workers to avoid human casualties in the future, the Committee was informed that Chief Inspector Mines, Balochistan has endorsed the recommendations of the Committee.
Furthermore, the Labour and Manpower Department, Government of Balochistan has clarified that the Balochistan Occupational Safety and Health Bill, 2019, has been processed and would soon be placed at the Cabinet meeting in Balochistan.
Chairman Committee Senator Mohsin Aziz opined that the conditions were pathetic for coal miners. He said that they risked their lives, working in inhuman conditions and it was incumbent on the government to provide them with facilities to improve working conditions.
Social security and welfare plans for miners were stressed. The Committee asserted that the government departments must focus on ensuring that the decisions of the Committee were implemented in letter and spirit. The Committee directed the Petroleum Division to resend the recommendations of the Committee to the Government of Balochistan for proper implementation.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020