ISLAMABAD: Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik on Monday estimated that the government’s fuel relief scheme would cost Rs25 billion to Rs30 billion per month.
He made the remarks at a press conference alongside federal ministers Attaullah Tarar and Shaza Fatima Khawaja, where the government briefed the media on the scheme’s eligibility criteria, registration mechanism and implementation. Malik said the scheme could cost around Rs300 billion if it continued for 10 months, adding that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had directed the government to mobilise ad-ditional resources for the programme. PM Shehbaz Sharif launched the scheme on Sunday, announcing a Rs100-per-litre dis-count on petrol for motorcyclists, rickshaw and Qingqi drivers and users of vehicles with engine capacities of up to 800cc.
Under the scheme, two-wheelers, rickshaws and other two- and three-wheelers will re-ceive relief on up to 20 litres of petrol per month, while vehicles up to 800cc will be eli-gible for a discount on up to 30 litres.
The relief will be rolled out in Islamabad from the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday and across the rest of Pakistan, including Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, from the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday. –Agencies
