Daily Times

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Friday sought a reply from the chairman of Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) in a petition filed against the hike in prices of petroleum products.

The Sindh High Court (SHC) heard a petition challenging a hike in petroleum products’ prices. The court asked the authorities to elaborate the procedure of the fixing prices of petroleum products.

The Deputy Attorney General told the SHC judge that the response of the Finance Ministry has been given which stated that OGRA possesses power to fix the prices.

The petitioner stated in its plea that there was no reason for increasing the petroleum products’ prices again and again. He pleaded with the SHC to question federal institutions regarding the procedure for fixing the prices.

Later, the SHC ordered OGRA to submit a response and adjourned the hearing.

Earlier in the day, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) proposed a Rs20.7 per litre hike in petrol price for the month for March. The OGRA proposed hiking the price of diesel by Rs19.61. It has forwarded a summary to the petroleum division for approval, the sources said.

This hike was proposed on the basis of a Rs30 per litre levy on petroleum products as compared to the Rs17.97 levy the government is currently charging on per litre of petrol and Rs18.36 on per litre of diesel.

On February 15, Prime Minister Imran Khan had rejected a summary of the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) that recommended an increase in prices of petroleum products from February 16. The OGRA had recommended raising Rs13.61 per litre on high-speed diesel and Rs7.43 on light diesel.