LAHORE: Getting the no objection certificates (NOC) from Lahore city district government for the establishment of CNG station has become an uphill task due to certain complexities, and stubborn and greedy attitude of its officials.



Eleven CDGL departments including Traffic Engineering and Planning Agency (TEPA), Revenue Department, LDA, Environment Department, Highways Department, Municipal and Services Department, Planning Department, SWM, Traffic police, Civil Defence and the Explosives Department issue separate NoCs that are compulsory for setting up a CNG station. The officials of all these departments separately ‘examine’ the application and visit the site for grant of an NoC. After recommendations from these departments, a meeting is called under DCO wherein the decision for the issuance of final NoC under Petroleum Act is taken. The issuance by the DCO does not affect the “Environment Approvals” under PEPA 1997.



But the applicants are made to make rounds from one office to another in pursuance of their case. Though a few applicants have managed to get the NoCs, there are still a large number of applicants waiting to check the status of their applications. The Punjab government is trying its best to promote use of CNG, but the CDGL departments are creating hurdles on the way to get NoCs. Majority of the applicants have been waiting for the last one year or so to get the NoCs. For example, an application for establishment of Feroze Gas was submitted on January 22, 2005 but its fate still hangs in the balance. In similar cases, the application for setting up Speed CNG station was submitted on July 11, 2005, while the application for Power CNG was received by the city government on February 12, 2005. An application for Empire Enterprise was received by CDGL in November 2005 and the application for CNG on Motorway was received by CDGL in September 2005. Application for Mian Jee CNG was received in October 2005 while the application for

Bahoo CNG was received in December 2005. The applications for establishment of Modern CNG and Al-Farooq CNG were submitted in September 2005 and December 2005, respectively. The applicant for Gas Fill is the victim to the official apathy since November 2005, while the application for the Hascombe Storage has been buried under the carpet since December 2005. The applicant for Shah Gee CNG has been waiting for the official action since September 2005 while another applicant for Al-Razzaq CNG has been pursuing his case since February 2006. While all these applicants are still waiting for the result of their application, the applicant for setting up CNG Express has managed to get NoC from three departments only since the application submission in July 2005.



The Punjab government has vowed that all the public transport will be converted to CNG by the end of year 2007 and it has also established over Rs 1 billion fund for Green Punjab to replace two-stroke rickshaws with CNG-fitted four stroke rickshaws. “The efforts of the Punjab government can receive huge setback if the procedure for receiving NoCs is not simplified,” an applicant said. The CDGL officials have made the task of getting CNG license so tedious that the actual applicants have hired the services of the middlemen who enjoy blessings of these officials.



The rumours regarding role of bribery are making rounds and are confirmed by the applicants and the middlemen. “The rate set by the middlemen ranges from Rs 150,000 to Rs 200,000 who pursue the application process and secure all the required NoCs,” one of the fortunate applicant, who got all the NoCs through the middlemen, revealed.



A senior CDGL official, seeking anonymity, informed that all the departments concerned had fixed rates and were issuing NoCs after receiving bribery ranging from Rs 8,000 to Rs 70,000. He said the middlemen were the front men of the CDGL officials who received money from the applicants for helping them get NoCs. “None of the genuine applicant is pursuing his application for the NoC. These are the middlemen who are offering them service at a heavy cost,” he commented, adding that the applicant must be patient enough to face and persuade the officials of the CDGL. He said recently a Civil Defence official was caught red-handed by Anti-Corruption Establishment for taking Rs 25,000 for issuance of an NoC.



When contacted, District Coordination Officer Mian Ijaz said any official found receiving or demanding bribery from the applicant for grant of NoC will not be spared. He said a stringent action had been taken against the Civil Defence official for taking bribe. He said the applicant must contact him if any official demand bribery from him.



