Wednesday, March 09, 2011



Inquiry report into sale of PECO shares submitted to PAC

By Zeeshan Javaid

ISLAMABAD: An inquiry report into the sale of shares of Pakistan Engineering Company (PECO) at low rates was laid before the Monitoring and Implementation Committee of Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Tuesday.

Shares of PECO valued at more than Rs 3 billion were sold to some influential personalities and groups at the rate of Rs 80 million only.

The inquiry report held National Investment Trust’s (NIT) former chairman, Tariq Iqbal, and three other persons responsible for the scandal.

However, the PAC directed Ministry of Industries and Productions to hold final round of meeting with Ministry of Finance, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan and Auditor General of Pakistan and submit final report within seven days.

The PAC committee met here under the chairmanship of Yasmeen Rehman and was informed that the NIT former chairman in connivance with Asif Jamil, Athar Hassan and Fayaz managed the sale of PECO shares at the low rates causing colossal damage to the national exchequer.

Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) Managing Director, Rasheed Lone, informed the committee that gas stealing incidents by industrial and commercial units in Lahore and Gujranwala hovered around two to three per day.

Responding to queries about the effectiveness of smart meters, Lone said that thieves had become even smarter and often came up with innovative ideas to steal gas.

Replying to another question, he said that mushrooming growth of CNG stations had also badly affected supply of gas to the domestic consumers.

“We have around 2,700 CNG stations in the north which increase gap between supply and demand of the commodity,” he said, adding, “Proposals for increasing gas tariffs almost equal to petrol and diesel have been dispatched to the federal cabinet to discourage CNG usage for commuting purposes.”

He further said that CNG stations consumed 11 percent of the total gas consumption in the country and earned at least 30 percent profit.

“Demand for the gas increased from seven to nine percent per annum, while new explorations were not made in sufficient quantities,” Lone observed, adding that two new gas exploration sites had been discovered in Kohat and Karak, which were linked to the main supply in Peshawar.

“However, soon gas production from these areas will reach 600 million cubic feet and then alternative gas supply pipeline is to be laid to Islamabad via Fateh Jang,” he concluded.

Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk

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