Despite receiving Rs 45 billion worth amount of gas development surcharges (GDS), the provincial governments have declined to provide funds for the supply of gas to localities/villages that fall within a five-kilometre radius of gas producing fields.
The localities which come within a five-kilometre radius of the gas producing fields and have remained deprived of gas facility hitherto, will get gas supply with effect to the new policy of the incumbent central government.
The provincial governments demanded from the federal government to provide them with Rs 6 billion in funds if the Centre is interested in ensuring gas provision to the villages/localities within the jurisdiction of gas producing fields. The provincial governments have also proposed to the federal government to collect cost of gas supply schemes (Rs 6bln) from the gas consumers of the country.
The federal government is unable to muster up the funds required to end deprivation of the areas of gas producing fields by launching new gas supply schemes.
A copy of official documents available with Pakistan Today disclosed that the federal government has decided to supply natural gas to all those localities/villages that fall within the radius of a five-kilometre area of gas producing fields in the country; Rs 6b has been estimated as the cost of providing gas to 519 villages.
It is also learnt that Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL) has prepared a plan to supply gas to 437 villages of Sindh province with an estimated cost of Rs 3 bln and 59 crores. Similarly, Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) has devised a plan to provide to the gas to 37 villages of Punjab province and eight villages of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province with estimated cost of Rs2bn and 25 crores.
The documents further revealed that even though Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had granted his approval to complete all these incomplete gas schemes, the required funds for these 519 gas schemes were not available with the federal government.
Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Resources has proposed that gas utilities (SNGPL & SSGCL) should pay the cost of these gas schemes with the approval of Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) and the provinces should ensure their share of funding as per formula.
Sindh government has clearly declined to provide funds and asked the centre to pay 100 per cent cost of its 437 gas schemes, while provincial governments of KPK, Balochistan and Punjab have declared that the SNGPL and the SSGCL should pay 100 costs of the gas schemes.
Official sources in petroleum ministry on condition of anonymity informed that all four provinces have so far collected above Rs 45 bln worth heavy amount under the head gas development surcharge. They said originally the amount of GDS was to spend on the development of gas producing areas, but, provincial governments have been utilising the GDS as per their priorities.
To end deprivations, the state-owned gas utilities must provide gas to all those localities which, so far, had not received gas supply till now and fall in the five-kilometre radius of gas producing fields, they added.
