Staff Report
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday reviewed progress on the Prime Minister’s Fuel Relief Programme and directed authorities to cancel the licences of petrol pumps that do not provide subsidised fuel to registered beneficiaries.
Chairing a high-level meeting in Islamabad, the prime minister expressed satisfaction over the programme’s progress and transparency, saying that simplification of the registration and subsidy disbursement procedures had led to an increase in registrations, enabling more deserving citizens to benefit from the initiative.
He described the technology-based and transparent subsidy scheme as a potential game changer for future public welfare initiatives.
During the meeting, the prime minister was informed that a total of 15,519,282 citizens have registered under the programme so far. These include 15.06 million motorcycle owners and 449,000 owners of vehicles with engine capacities of up to 800cc.
The meeting was further informed that 63,153,685 subsidy tokens had been issued, of which 59,445,347 had been redeemed. The total disbursements under the fuel subsidy scheme reached Rs 28.6 billion as of November 4.
The prime minister also appreciated Federal Minister for Information Technology and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima, Federal Secretary Zarrar Hashim Khan and their team for developing an effective monitoring mechanism and dashboard to ensure transparency and oversight of the programme.
To facilitate beneficiaries and address complaints, separate call centres have also been established for consumers and petrol pump operators.
The prime minister emphasised the importance of ensuring that registered beneficiaries receive the facilities promised under the scheme and directed strict action against petrol pumps found denying them subsidised fuel.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Federal Ministers Ahad Khan Cheema, Musadik Malik, Muhammad Aurangzeb, Attaullah Tarar and Ali Pervaiz Malik, Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar Kiani, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Tariq Bajwa, Special Assistant on Energy Lt. Gen (retd) Zafar Iqbal and other relevant senior officers attended the meeting.
The PM’s Fuel Relief Programme was launched on September 13 amid rising petroleum prices triggered by tensions in the Middle East. The government announced a subsidy of Rs100 per litre to provide relief to low- and middle-income households.
Under the scheme, motorcyclists, rickshaw and Qingqi owners are eligible for subsidised petrol on up to 20 litres monthly, while owners of vehicles up to 800cc can receive relief on 30 litres.
The programme initially faced resistance from petroleum dealers over the reimbursement mechanism. However, the Pakistan Petroleum Dealers Association agreed to implement the scheme following negotiations with the government.
The government later eased eligibility and registration requirements to facilitate beneficiaries and introduced a complaint mechanism to address issues faced by consumers and petrol pump operators.
