ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat led by Senator Rana Mahmoodul Hassan took stern notice of LPG bowser explosion in Multan which claimed eight precious lives and inflicted minor and major injuries on 38 individuals.

The Ogra chairman told the committee that the mafia involved in LPG theft replaced LPG with CO2 for hef ty returns.

LPG costs around Rs250,000 per tonne compared to the low cost CO2 which costs around Rs30,000 per tonne. The LPG carriers mixed LPG with CO2 at some unidentified places after filling bowsers from the refinery, the Ogra chairman added.

The CPO Multan said four culprits involved in this heinous aethad been arrested and FIR registered under the antiterrorism act. However, a similar incident occurred in Dera Ghazi Khan, resulting in no loss of human life, he added.

During the course of themeeting, Senator Farooq H.

Naek lamented the authorities, stating that 171 cases had been registered in January alone, reflecting the inefficiency of the civil administration.

Senator Saifullah Sarwar Khan Nyazee inquired about the existing number of bowsers and the companies associated with the LPG business.

The Ogra chairman replied that 300 companies were associated with LPG and as of now, there were 2,000 registered bowsers in the country. Senator Saifullah Sarwar Khan Nyazee suggested that Ogra should make guidelines for LPG operators restricting them from stopping at unidentified places.

The Senate Committee formed a subcommittee to probe the hazardous mixing of LPG with CO2 and directed Ogra in formulating SOPs for the prevention of this menace in future.

Furthermore, the committee was briefed by the Naya Pakistan Housing and Development Authority (NAPHDA) chairman on its working and performance duringthe last three years.The NAPHDA chairman said the authority was created with a vision to make affordable housing for the needy, and the authority had constructed 59,500 homes in various locations across the country mainly Sargodha, Chiniot, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, ICT and Lahore, with the collaboration of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces.

The authority constructed 3.5 marla homes with the minimal cost of 2.7 million and also facilitated loans to land owners willing to build homes for themselves.

The committee inquired whether the homes completed by NAPHDA had been delivered. The authority`s chairman replied that the homes made in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had been delivered. However, homes completed in Sargodha and Chiniot could not be delivered due to insufficient disbursement of funds from the finance ministry.

The committee decided to call upon the finance ministry in the next meeting for the immediate delivery of homes to avoid deterioration.Senator Farooq H. Naek inquired about any existing collaboration with Sindh and Balochistan province. The NAPHDA chairman stated that both provinces had not extended any cooperation despite several attempts to contact them.

The committee decided to call upon the chief secretaries of both the provinces for probable collaboration between the provinces and NAPHDA.

While discussing the performance of the National Seed Development and Regulatory Authority, the NSDRA chairman said the authority was created in November last year with a purpose to establish quality and eco-friendly seeds for agriculture boost.

He further that the board of authority comprised federal minister, four farmers and experts plus the provincial secretaries of agriculture departments. However, the TORs of the authority had been approved by the federal government.

The committee recommended that members of parliament should be made part of the board to bring inclusivity.