Government drops another bomb to pile miseries of hapless masses

Keeping its words and without showing any mercy to the people already concerned by inflation and economic volatility, the government Tuesday dropped a petrol bomb, increasing prices of petroleum products up to six per cent with immediate effect.

The incumbent lethargically passed on the full impact of rising international oil prices to the consumers by augmenting POL prices to a record high, accompanied by a 10 percent increase in Compressed Natural Gas (CNG).

According to a notification issued by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), the price of petrol has been increased by Rs 5.37 per litre to Rs 94.91 per litre, High Octane Blended Component (HOBC) by Rs 6.29 to Rs 118.20 per litre, High Speed Diesel (HSD) by Rs 4.64 to Rs 103.46 per litre, Light Diesel Oil (LDO) by Rs 3.43 to Rs 90.21 per litre and Super Kerosene Oil (SKO) by Rs 2.78 to Rs 92.02 per litre.

At the same time, the OGRA issued another notification, saying CNG prices in Region I (comprising Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Potohar including Rawalpindi, Islamabad and Gujjar Khan) had been increased by Rs 0.71 to Rs 74.29 per kg, and in Region II (comprising Sindh and Punjab) by Rs 0.36 to Rs 69.60 per kg.

The All Pakistan CNG Association (APCNGA) condemned the increment in gas prices saying it will increase the burden over already hapless masses. According to the media reports, OGRA had recommended adjusting the increase in POL prices by lowering the petroleum levy (PL), as consumers were also paying GST on fuel.

The Petroleum Ministry also seconded OGRA’s recommendation, but the Finance Ministry rejected it nevertheless.

Earlier, Petroleum Secretary Ejaz Chaudhary spiritually defended Petroleum Minister Dr Asim Hussain at the meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Petroleum for making a premature announcement on increase in POL prices, which parliamentarians had criticised as a cue for hoarders to stock supplies.

Conversely, the secretary was of the opinion that the people in the business were well aware of the situation as they monitored the international oil prices on a daily basis and the impact could effortlessly be considered.

The ministry was working on a formula to bring price parity in various fuel prices to end the excessive demand for gas, he added saying the prices of fuels could be brought at par with each other by reducing the petroleum levy.

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Posted by Faisal Farooq on Feb 1 2012. Filed under National, Pakistan, Society. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.