Sindh High Court (SHC) on Thursday suspended the gas tariff hike notification for the textile industry. The Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) issued a notification for the raise in gas tariff for the textile industry. The SHC order granted relief to the plaintiffs (textile manufacturers) by temporarily suspending the implementation of the contentious notification for the plaintiffs only, provided they deposited a specific differential amount with the court’s Nazir within seven days. Accordingly, SSGC is asked to issue monthly gas bills to plaintiffs (textile manufacturers) at the rate prevailing before the issuance of the impugned notification.

Additionally, the order outlined that failure to make payments for two consecutive months would result in the suspension of the interim order for the plaintiff failing to comply. It also mentioned that any payments made to Nazir would be subject to the outcome of the injunction application. The industrialists are instructed to pay their monthly bills regularly, with a clear instruction for the defendant-SSGC to issue separate bills or specify amounts in a manner that distinguishes the differential amount to be deposited with the Nazir and paid directly to the defendants.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)