The All Pakistan CNG Association (APCNGA) has said the compressed natural gas sector is on the verge of destruction due to parity between the price of petrol and local gas.
The price of gas should have been reduced after decreasing the price of petrol to keep the troubled CNG business viable as both fuels are linked, said Ghiyas Abdullah Paracha, Central Chairman APCNGA.
He said that the CNG sector is crumbling due to costly natural gas, unbearable burden of taxes, and indifference of the government which will leave thousands of dealers bankrupt, around four hundred thousand people unemployed while an investment of Rs. 400 billion will go down the drain.
Ghiyas Paracha said that there are five hundred thousand vehicles in the country which cannot be run on petrol which will be halted resulting in a nightmare for many.
He said that some of the government’s favorite sectors are addicted to subsidies while the burden of their subsidies is shifted to the CNG sector which is unjustified. Now the CNG sector is unable to bear the burden of blue-eyed sectors, therefore the government should reduce subsidies to make natural gas economical for the CNG sector, he demanded.
He said that CNG stations in Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan are using natural gas for which gas tariffs should be reduced, taxation should be relaxed and GIDC should be abolished so that they remain viable.
He lamented that the government continues to support influential sectors and business mafia but it has always ignored the CNG sector and if the situation was not improved the leaders of the CNG sectors will be unable to stop dealers and workers from protests, he warned.
