LAHORE: The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has strongly criticized Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) for making huge increase of 36% in gas tariff and demanded of the government to reject OGRA decision and withdraw heavy increase in gas tariff.
In a statement issued here, the LCCI President Abdul Basit, Senior Vice President Amjad Ali Jawa and Vice President Muhammad Nasir Hameed Khan that OGRA decision shows that this department is not aware of the ground realities.
The LCCI office-bearers said that massive increase of 36% in the gas tariff would hurt the exports as it would jack-up cost of doing business manifold and expel the Pakistani products from the international export market.
They said that such anti-business measures would hamper the growth of manufacturing sector. They said that the raise in the gas tariff would create multiple problems for the industrialists as they have to bear heavy loss while fulfilling their export commitments.
They said that the government always vow to take the private sector on board but the government departments like OGRA are doing quite different and don’t bother to consult the LCCI or any other sector-specific association.
They LCCI office-bearers said that the impact of 36% increase in gas tariff would be much bigger than the expectation of the government who should avoid any such decision keeping in view the economic scenario in the country.
“Government should avoid to accept OGRA decision as this department is not doing any service to the industry but is actually widening the gap between the private sector and government”, the LCCI office-bearers added.
They said that at a time when most of the countries around the globe are facilitating their respective private sectors, the situation in Pakistan is the other way round and various government departments are tightening noose around the private sector.
They said that even the slightest raise in the cost of production, at this critical juncture would spell doom and oust Pakistani merchandise from the international export market but OGRA completely ignored this fact and moving for making 36% increase in gas tariff that would deprive the exchequer of much-needed valuable foreign exchange to the tune of billions of dollars.
The LCCI office-bearers urged the government to withdraw the OGRA decision that is not some thing else but to tarnish the soft image of the government.
