ISLAMABAD: Gas distribution companies may issue up to a million new connections in a year, National Assembly Standing Committee on Petroleum and Natural Resources recommended on Monday.
The suggestion was made in a meeting of the committee held under the chairmanship of MNA Chaudhry Bilal Ahmad Virk.
The committee suggested that up to 100 new connections could be issued to new residential schemes in a year.
The suggestion was made on grounds that a large number of applications for new gas connections were already pending approval with distribution companies.
Earlier, the committee was told that the Oil and Gag Regulatory Authority (OGRA) had approved a request by distribution companies of issuance of up to 500,000 new connections every year. However, it was told, the companies were unable to meet the demand since a large number of applications for new connections were already lying pending approval with the companies. It was also told that the OGRA had allowed provision of up to 200 new connections to new residential schemes every year.
During Monday’s hearing, an OGRA representative informed the committee that if companies could manage to carry out the task the regulatory authority had no objection to increasing number of new connections to be issued every year.
While discussing performance of the Pakistan State Oil (PSO), the committee expressed satisfaction, however, it directed the PSO to aggressively pursue measures to realise recoverable from government departments. The committee also expressed its satisfaction on the performance of the Pakistan Minerals Development Corporation (PMDC) and the Hydro-Carbon Development Institute of Pakistan (HDIP).
While discussing the implementation status of actions taken by the OGDCL on recommendations made to it in the previous meeting, the committee directed the OGDCL management to pursue inquiries on irregularities in disbursement of WPPF, misuse of medical facilities, and theft of diesel. It said that a report should be submitted to the committee on progress in these matters.
The meeting was attended by MNAs Muhammad Arshad Khan Laghari, Malik Ihtebar Khan, Rana Afzaal Hussain, Syed Muhammad Saqlain Shah Bukhari, Mian Tariq Mehmood, Rana Muhammad Ishaq Khan, Rasheed Ahmad Khan, Ch. Khalid Javaid Warraich, Nawab Ali Wassan, Mr. Imran Khattak, and Mr. Abdul Waseem, Sajid Ahmed.
Published in Daily Times, July 11th , 2017.
