Rules for setting up CNG stations relaxed

The federal government has allowed the provisional CNG license holders to import required machinery for setting up filling stations or purchase them from the approved local manufacturers of Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), provided they have completed all the formalities including obtaining of NOCs, land acquisition.
According to officials in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Resources here on Friday, this decision was taken last week by the PM Secretariat (Public) in response to the plea of Petroleum Ministry of February 28, 2008, seeking clarification from the PM's Secretariat regarding the decision of January 6, 2008 for stopping CNG licenses in the country.
The PM Secretariat has also decided to review progress on existing provisional licenses by the authorities and those licenses will be revoked as per OGRA rules where no progress has been made. However, the policy in this regard should be transparent and devoid of any discretion.
The PM Secretariat has also instructed that no new provisional license will be issued, which enables an investor to undertake construction, import machinery or apply for various NOCs. Similarly, consumption of gas during winter at existing CNG stations should be rationalised through adoption of fiscal measures in accordance with charter/ rules of OGRA. The fiscal measures have to be defined.
It may be noted that according to earlier decision, only those CNG license holders were allowed to go ahead who had already imported filling station machinery. Secretary CNG station owners association Sajid Abbas while welcoming this decision said about 1500 to 2000 provisional license holders will be benefited from it.
He said majorities of applicants are from Punjab followed by Sindh and only 50 stations will come up in Karachi. Abbas said due to extremely high prices of land in Karachi the number of upcoming CNG stations have been reduced, adding that a plot for CNG station is sold at a price of Rs 40 million.
He said this decision has been taken on the recommendations of the association. These people had already heavily invested in the purchase of land and in acquiring various NOCs and spent one-and-a-half year in this process, he added.