SHC seeks Ogra report on fitness criteria for CNG kits, cylinders

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Thursday directed the Hydrocarbon Development Institute of Pakistan (HDIP) and the Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) to file a report on the fitness testing and clearance criteria of CNG kits and cylinders being used in public and private vehicles.

The direction came on the petitions of Muzammil Mumtaz Meo and Tariq Mansoor seeking action against the police officials who had demanded a bribe from a rickshaw driver and caused him to self-immolate as well as against the use of CNG kits and cylinders in school vans and public vehicles.

The SHC was informed that the Sindh government had banned the use of CNG in intercity public vehicles in 2015 for public safety. Transport Secretary Akhtar Ghori said the basic responsibility lies with Ogra, which is the controlling authority for the issues raised in the petitions. He said the HDIP functions under the supervision and control of Ogra, and they are responsible for checking the quality of CNG kits and cylinders. The HDIP’s office is in Karachi, but they do not have sufficient means and resources to check and verify vehicles’ fitness, he added.

Ghori said it would be appropriate to call the HDIP chief to explain what measures they have adopted for ensuring safety of the vehicles running on CNG and LPG. He also mentioned the laws relating to regulation of the use of CNG and LPG in vehicles.

Filing a progress report on the confiscations of CNG cylinders by the traffic police, Traffic West SSP Najeeb Khan told the court that they frequently remove cylinders from school vans. He said that over 1,800 CNG kits have so far been removed from different vehicles, but the quantity of such kits is very high.

The SHC’s division bench headed by Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar issued notices to Ogra and the HDIP director, ordering them to submit a report on the fitness and clearance criteria for CNG kits and cylinders being used in public and private vehicles.

Meo had said in his petition that the rickshaw driver had set himself on fire at the traffic police office in Saddar in protest after being fined by the traffic police for not paying them a bribe a few days ago. The driver later died at a hospital.

He claimed that the rickshaw driver was forced to commit suicide because he had to deal with extortion at least thrice. He also said the Karachi traffic police routinely demand bribes from rickshaw drivers and motorcyclists, and impose undue fines on them if they refuse. The petition stated that substandard CNG cylinders are being used by public vehicles despite clear directions of the court, but no action is being taken against such vehicles.