Islamabad: The Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) was told on Wednesday that the revolving credit in the gas sector has increased during the current year but efforts are on to reduce it.
The committee, which met under the chairmanship of its chairman Noor Alam Khan, also sought details of perks provided to top government officials, including the prime minister, ministers and judges of the Supreme Court.
PAC took a briefing from Secretary Petroleum. He told the committee that last year the revolving debt of the petroleum sector was 1200 billion rupees, which has now increased to 1700 billion rupees.
The secretary said that a plan has been prepared to get rid of the revolving debt of the petroleum sector. “The Finance Ministry and the Energy Ministry are working on it,” he added.
It has been decided to replace the assets of the institutions, he said, in exchange for the power plants, liabilities of 300 to 400 billion rupees will be cleared. He also said that the increase in gas tariff has reduced the debt by 250 billion rupees.
During the meeting, the chairman asked the secretary why the ban on new gas connections was not lifted despite the PAC order. The Home Secretary replied that a summary in this regard was placed before the Federal Cabinet but it was rejected.
Noor Alam Khan ordered that the recommendations of PAC to lift the ban on gas connection will be sent to the Prime Minister’s Office. Khan also directed gas utilities not to charge increased meter fare from gas consumers.
The Chairman expressed satisfaction over the recent reduction in the prices of petrol and diesel and emphasized the need to bring down the prices further. “These [petroleum production costs] are still very high, the lower the better,” he added.
The committee was also told that the Ministry of External Affairs would discuss the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline issue with the US ambassador on his return from Washington.
Officials updated PAC on recovery of dues from various oil companies. However, Khan told officials that the PAC had ordered him to collect the dues and not to negotiate with the firms.
Audit officials told the committee that the revolving credit of gas was Rs 1,270 billion as on November 30, 2021. Auditor General Ajmal Gondal said that the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) was not following its instructions.
Committee member Nuzhat Pathan and other members drew the attention of the participants to the salaries of military personnel. Noor Alam Khan said that he was surprised to see the salaries of the president, prime minister, judges and bureaucrats.
He said that the prime minister’s salary is the lowest among them. The Auditor General said that the details of perks given to the President, Prime Minister, judges and bureaucrats have been prepared and will be submitted to the committee.
