Date November 27 , 2011
Business community rejected proposed 11 to 14% raise in gas and 31% raise in electricity tariff.
Pakistan Industrial & Traders Association Front (PIAF) and leaders of business community strongly criticizing the proposed 11 to 14 percent increase in the gas and 31 percent increase in the hydel-electricity.
In a press statement issued here Friday, Chairman PIAF Sohail Lashari, Chairman Lahore Township Industries Association Haroon Shafiq Chaudhry and Chairman Auto Parts Manufacturers & Exporters Association Tahir Javed Malik urged the Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani to reject the OGRA and NEPRA anti-industry summaries in the larger interest of the country.
They said that massive increase in one-go in the electricity tariff and gas prices is not only anti-industry but anti-masses as would be last nail in the coffin of economy. Unprecedented increase in the electricity and gas prices would also hit the government reputation hard therefore Prime Minister should reject the summaries.
They said that Lahore High Court has stopped the recent hike in the electricity prices in the name of fuel adjustment and now NEPRA has planned to snatch huge money by making massive increase of 31% in the prices of electricity being generated through hydel resources.
They said that brutal implementation of the brutal proposals would accelerate the capital flying that would break the backbone of the economy. They said that huge capital worth Rs.180 billion has already been shifted to onlyMalaysia during the last eight years. They said that the recent hike in power tariff is bound to further jack-up the manufacturing cost of Pakistani merchandise and resultantly the country would become a trading hub. They said that instead of increasing power tariff, the government should concentrate on cheaper means of power generation including coal-based power generation houses and through furnace oil.
The leaders of the business community were of the view that Kalabagh dam was the most excellent solution of the power crisis but present regime shelved the project with a one stroke of pen. They said that Pakistan could generate thousands megawatt electricity through coal and other alternate resources. Only Sindh has 185 billion tone reserves of coal but government is spending $ 13 billion annually on the import of oil and generating electricity through costly furnace oil operated power plants. They said that it could be eye-opener for the people sitting on the helm of affairs that Bangladesh is generating sufficient solar electricity and providing to more than one million houses while situation in Pakistan is quite vice versa.
They demanded of the government to shelve the NEPRA & OGRA proposals with a one stroke of pen in the larger interest of the trade and industry and show his commitment with the Pakistani nation.
0 comments:
Post a Comment