Re: No deadline to end load shedding: Kh Asif
There are some issues which need to be rectified, e.g. Balochis keep on pointing the rates offered to them for the gas produced (are the lowest) where as Punjab (not surprisingly) gets the highest.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2013\05\26\story_26-5-2013_pg3_2
Syed Fazl-e-Haider, a respected analyst, in his piece, “Balochistan for increased share in gas revenue” in a national English daily on September 29, 2009 wrote, “**The province has been demanding an increase in the well-head price of its gas to bring it at par with the rates in Sindh and the Punjab. Some five years ago, Balochistan was getting merely Rs 22 per MMBTU while Sindh was getting Rs126 per MMBTU and Punjab Rs180 per MMBTU for some of its wells. If the prices were made uniform with that of Sindh gas, Balochistan would get additional revenue for meeting its development needs. **While the federal government is arbitrarily subsidising the sale of natural gas from Balochistan to consumers in other provinces without its consent, the province is left with no funds to finance its annual development programme. According to one estimate, the subsidy for Sindh is around Rs 1.72 billion and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Rs 12.92 billion. The subsidy being given to the fertiliser sector in terms of fuel, amounts to Rs 1.054 billion, cement sector Rs 34.64 million, fertiliser (feedstock) Rs 31.03 million, CNG Rs 24.12 million, general industrial sector Rs 424.15 million and commercial sector Rs 54.67 million. All the subsidies are being provided at Balochistan’s expense.”
After much delay the prices were raised but still the average well-head prices are: Balochistan Rs 66.34, Punjab Rs 162.93 and Sindh Rs 142.57; interestingly, the 12.5 percent royalty fixed for gas drawn from the field area is based on ‘well-head value’ so Punjab gets more from less while Balochistan less from more. The injustice becomes even more apparent when the percentage of production and own usage is seen, which is Balochistan 40 and two percent, Sindh 54 and 36 percent and Punjab six and 44 percent respectively.