KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Tuesday observed that the Hydrocarbon Development Institute of Pakistan (HDIP) had been empowered for testing and certification of the CNG kits and cylinders being used in public transport and school vans and it should be made more functional.

The court also directed HDIP’s two officials to appear on Dec 24.

A two-judge bench headed by Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar directed the traffic police to keep checking all vehicles fitted with CNG cylinders and ensure that they had proper certification.

It also sought a progress report from provincial authorities on the next hearing regarding a task force with regard to the terms of reference (ToRs) assigned to it for proper implementation after it was informed that the task force had been constituted for implementing a ban on use of CNG cylinders in public vehicles and school vans.

The court attaches KDA’s investment in NIT and NSS to clear dues of retired employees

When a set of petitions about unauthorised use of CNG kits and cylinders in public transport and school vans came up for hearing, the director general of the explosives department, Abdul Ali Khan, appeared in court and submitted that under the CNG Rules, 1992 there was a mechanism for the testing and certification of the cylinders and the task had been assigned to the HDIP.

However, the bench while noting that nobody was available to represent the HDIP during Tuesday’s proceedings, issued notices to the regional in charge of HDIP-Karachi and its general manager, Islamabad, to appear in court on the next hearing.

The bench observed that the rules were in field but it was a matter of implementation in letter and spirit and the HDIP had been conferred the power for testing and certification/verification of CNG cylinders with due diligence and it should be made more functional to deal with such issues.

Mr Khan further informed the bench that approval for workshops with regard to installation of CNG kits was granted by his department and responsibility to train manpower and certification of cylinders was vested in the HDIP.

He said that in Punjab, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) had been signed between the HDIP and a CNG association while in KP the same was under process, but no such MoU had been signed yet in Sindh.

The bench directed the representatives of the Pakistan CNG Association and Sindh CNG Association to come up with a proper proposal for signing the MoU between HDIP and province of Sindh.

SSP-Traffic Syed Shahid submitted that they had already been performing duties to check substandard and unauthorised CNG kits in vehicles.

The bench directed him to continue their duties diligently to check all CNG vehicles to confirm whether they were plying on roads with proper certification.

Additional Advocate General Jawad Dero submitted a progress report along with a notification issued on Dec 4 for constitution of a task force along with ToRs to chalk out further strategy for strict implementation of the court orders and rules to ban usage of CNG in all kinds of intercity pubic vehicles, school/college vans and to prepare ways and means with regard to use of CNG as fuel in local transport of the city.

The bench adjourned the hearing after the AAG requested for some time to file the progress report of the task force with regard to the ToRs assigned to it for proper implementation.

SHC attaches KDA’s investment in NIT

Another division bench of the SHC on Tuesday issued a directive for immediate attachment of all the investment made by the Karachi Development Authority in the National Investment Trust (NIT) and National Savings Schemes (NSS) to settle the post-retirement benefits of its retired employees.

The bench headed by Justice Nadeem Akhtar observed that as the deadline of Dec 31 to settle the outstanding liability of pensioners was approaching fast and the possibility of grant of a loan by the Sindh government to the KDA was still uncertain, it had been left with no choice but to order that all the amount of the KDA invested in NIT and NSS stood attached with immediate effect.

“Learned official assignee is directed to ensure that the said units and certificates are liquidated and the proceeds thereof are appropriated towards the subject liability of pension before the above-mentioned deadline,” it added.

The bench also directed the Sindh chief secretary to appear in person on Dec 15 along with the report in terms of its order.

It also directed the finance and local government secretaries to appear on the next hearing along with their replies to show-cause notices issued against them for not complying with an earlier order of the bench.

During Tuesday’s proceedings, the lawyer for a petitioner informed the bench that the KDA had invested Rs250 million and Rs160m in NIT and NSS, respectively, and KDA officials confirmed the same.

Published in Dawn, December 9th, 2020