Oil & gas companies provided more than Rs5 billion to provincial government as part of corporate social responsibility for carrying out the development works in the last six years, the Petroleum Ministry informed Sindh High Court (SHC) here Monday.
Director General (DG) Petroleum Concessions told a division bench of SHC headed by Chief Justice (CJ) Ahmed Ali M Sheikh, hearing a petition of resident of district Ghotki namely Rohsan Ali Lakhan for implementation of the apex court's orders regarding spending funds for uplift of the areas where oil and gas is being explored and produced.
Sindh Chief Secretary Syed Mumtaz Ali Shah and DG PC Ministry of Petroleum appeared in the hearing after they were summoned by court in the previous hearing.
The DG PC also submitted the details of funds provided to Sindh Government. In the previous hearing, court had sought the details of funds provided to each district of the province.
A list was also submitted in the court about the officials, who served as Chief Secretary Sindh during the last six years. Court inquired from CS Sindh about the non-utilization of funds, which were provided y oil & gas companies for socio-economic uplift of the various districts of the province.
Court showed its displeasures over non-utilization of funds despite being provided by the oil & gas companies, at which CS Sindh extended his apology and assured the court that these funds would be spent. DG Audit Sindh also appeared in the hearing and sought the time for presenting the audit of the funds as he took the charge in the capacity of the DG Audit today.
Court had ordered the audit of development funds provided by oil & gas companies in the various districts of province. A report submitted by Sindh Government in the court suggested that there are around eighty seven reservoirs of oil & gas in the province of different volumes.
Repot indicated that around 2,184 villages are located in 5kms area in the surrounding of gas fields in Sindh. A total of eighty two villages have been supplied so far. 2102 villages in the 5kms area within gas fields have not been provided gas in the province, report of provincial government
Report informed that around fifty eight percent of funds have been utilized. Petitioner claimed that oil and gas companies owe more than Rs500 billion on development funds head.
In a written order, court observed that most of funds remain unutilized and projects for which funds were utilized were not advertised before hand so that the local public could have given their input on which projects were of greatest need to them.
Court also ruled that shockingly in none of the 21 districts there is a chairman of the committee on social development since July 2018 (over 7 months ago) and over 5 months since tins court took up this implementation case which show a complete lack of interest on the part of Sindh Government in utilizing such funds for the benefit of the local people and paying any heed to the direction of apex court.