Senator says GIDC bill passed in haste, needs to be discussed at the CCI before its re-promulgation
PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader and noted businessman Senator Mohsin Aziz termed the re-imposition of Gas Infrastructure Development Cess (GIDC), through an ordinance, as tantamount to negate constitutional rights of smaller provinces, particularly terrorism-affected Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The natural gas, a God-gifted treasure, is being produced in a surplus quantity in KP, so it is a legitimate right of people of the province to take first benefit from their gas, said Senator Mohsin Aziz while talking to the Customs Today.
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He said that instead of fully exploiting natural gas in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the federal government imposed ban on gas connection for industries and captive-power units in the province. Now, he added, it went further to deprive people of their constitutional rights, while re-imposing GIDC to collect billions of rupees through it, which merely aims to develop infrastructure in Punjab. He termed the move sheer injustice with the people of smaller provinces.
Senator Mohsin Aziz said that hefty amount of GIDC would be spent on liquefied natural gas (LNG) and Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India (TAPI) gas-pipeline project, which could only benefit Punjab. He said that gas production in Punjab is next to nil, and its consumption of natural gas is double as compared to other provinces of the country. He said the federal government’s move would further bring economic and industrial stagnation and slow down businesses in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Aziz, who is also vice chairman of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Board of Investment and Trade (KP-BoIT), said that the GIDC was again implemented by the federal government through an ordinance, which was recently passed in the shape of a bill from both Houses of parliament.
He said the bill was passed in haste, which needed to be discussed at the Council of Common Interest (CCI) forum before its re-promulgation.
He said the GIDC was earlier levied in 2011 by the federal government by enacting the GIDC Act 2011 to develop different projects, including the Pakistan Iran (IP) Gas Pipelines Project, Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) Pipelines Project, LNG Import Project and LPG Supply Enhancement Project. He informed that the Peshawar High Court (PHC) on June 13, 2013, declared the GIDC unconstitutional and the judgement was also upheld by the Supreme Court on August 22, 2014.
