FAISALABAD: Punjab Caretaker Chief Minister Punjab Mohsin Naqvi has said that a special cell to resolve the problems confronted by industrialists will be established within two days under the direct supervision of industries department while one window system is being further streamlined to issue NOCs for the establishment of new industries and businesses.
Speaking during a meeting with a delegation of Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FCCI) on Monday, he assured that the caretaker government was making all out efforts to facilitate the trade and businesses and their genuine issues are being resolved on top priority basis.
President FCCI Dr. Khurram Tariq explained in detail the negative impact of unrealistic tariff of electricity and gas on the industrial sector and said that availability of raw material and conducive environment is also imperative to run the existing industry with its full installed capacity.
Regarding electricity and gas, he said that the industrialists are not in favour of any facility or subsidy but they want justified rates. He said that it is not fair to recover line losses and theft of electricity from the consumers of other distribution companies. He said that the recovery of PESCO is 37.2% whereas it is 99.2% in case of FESCO. He said that instead of encouraging the consumers of FESCO, they are being overburdened with the theft and line losses of other discos.
The FCCI President said that enhanced electricity rates play an instrumental role in increasing our cost of production and thus, the exporters have to face tough competition in the international markets. He also expressed concern over the marked difference between the gas tariff for Punjab and Sindh. He said that the province from where gas is extracted is eligible in the priority utilization of this utility.
“The difference in tariff is not permissible under 18th amendment as well as it would be sheer unjust to the other federating units”, he said and added that exporters could enhance exports manifold if they were provided with congenial environment. He also explained the problems of traders and industrialists and demanded that the caretaker setup must resolve these issues within its own tenure.
Senior Vice President FCCI Dr. Sajjad Arshad was also present during this meeting.
