PM Shehbaz Orders Action Against Pumps Denying Fuel Subsidy

On Thursday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif told officials to cancel the licences of petrol pumps that refuse to serve people registered under the Prime Minister’s Fuel Relief Programme. He gave the order at a meeting in Islamabad to review the subsidy scheme. The warning comes as petrol prices fall for the third time in a row.

The scheme gives a fuel subsidy to owners of motorcycles, rickshaws and small cars. According to officials, more than 15.5 million people have now signed up.

What the PM ordered on the Fuel Relief Programme

Shehbaz told the authorities to make sure that registered users face no hurdles when they buy subsidised fuel. He also directed that petrol pumps follow the government’s instructions. Outlets that deny the facility to eligible citizens will lose their licences, according to the Prime Minister’s Office.

At the same time, the prime minister praised the scheme’s progress. He said simpler registration and payment steps had led to more sign-ups. He also called the technology-based system a possible “game changer” for future welfare schemes.

In addition, he thanked IT Minister Shaza Fatima and her team for building the dashboard that monitors the programme.

The scheme in numbers

Officials briefed the meeting on the latest figures:

15,519,282 citizens have registered so far.
Of these, 15.06 million are motorcycle owners. About 449,000 own cars with engines of up to 800cc.
In total, the system has issued 63,153,685 fuel tokens, and users have redeemed 59,445,347. That is a use rate of just over 94%.
The government had paid out Rs28.6 billion by November 4.

The Express Tribune said the payments so far equal about 38% of the Rs75 billion set aside for the scheme. Our own calculation confirms this. The Economic Coordination Committee approved that budget on September 14.

Officials also told the meeting that separate call centres now serve customers and petrol pump operators. These handle questions and complaints.

How the fuel subsidy works

The government launched the scheme in September as fuel prices soared after the US-Iran war began. Owners of motorcycles and rickshaws get a subsidy of Rs100 per litre on up to 20 litres a month, Dawn reported. Owners of cars of up to 800cc get the same subsidy on up to 30 litres a month.

The Ministry of IT and Telecommunication runs the digital Fuel Pass system. As a result, the money goes straight to registered users rather than through general price cuts.

Complaints from the ground

The scheme has faced problems, however. In October, The Express Tribune reported that about 31,000 consumers had been denied subsidies. Complaints included pumps refusing service, technical faults, expired tokens and registration errors.

In response, the government ordered an audit of fuel stations. Officials also discussed checking pumps that recorded unusually low numbers of subsidised sales. Earlier, in September, the prime minister had ordered help desks at petrol stations to assist people with registration.

Thursday’s order is the strongest warning yet to pump owners. Still, it is not yet clear how many licences, if any, the authorities will cancel, or how they will check cases.

Petrol price cut again

Meanwhile, ordinary motorists are getting some relief at the pump. On Wednesday, the government cut the petrol price by Rs7.06 per litre and high-speed diesel by Rs3.71. From Thursday, petrol costs Rs362.00 per litre and diesel Rs387.81, according to an Ogra notification reported by Dawn.

This was the third cut in a row. It came as global oil prices dipped below $100 a barrel after the US midterm elections. Even so, prices remain far above pre-war levels. Petrol cost about Rs266 per litre in the first week of March. By April 3, it had hit a record Rs458.41.

The government still levies around Rs114 in taxes and duties on every litre of petrol. Therefore, for millions of low-income riders, the subsidy remains an important support while prices stay high.