Page 220 - Muzaffargarh Gazzetteer

by specialists/experts. In such a backdrop, Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority
(OGRA), being the regulatory agency of the oil sector, was formally requested
by the District Administration, in written, to take up the task, constitute a
committee of experts and all stakeholders, dispatch them to the venue, get
proper town planning carried out and suggest strategy for its
implementation. It was further suggested that the Oil Companies Advisory
Council (OCAC) should also be taken on board which comprised members
from all 5 refineries as well as 25 OMCs operating in Pakistan, as already
one of the stated objectives of OCAC was “Develop plans/suggestions to help
Government to streamline the oil and gas sector”. It was assured that the
District Administration would provide all sorts of support, as and when
required.

The OGRA responded by saying that it was not seized with the function of
town planning, and that the Deputy Commissioner as well as Chief Inspector
of Explosives were the ones responsible.

The matter was once again referred back by the District Administration to
the OGRA. It was said that there was no denying the fact that such matters
ordinarily fell within the domain of the District Administration, yet such
strategic interests needed to be protected by all concerned irrespective of
areas/domain of jurisdiction. It was further said that it was not an ordinary
town planning the District Administration was seeking help in. Given the
enormity of task, and specific requirements of the oil sector, the District
Administration felt constrained as it neither had the resources nor the
technical expertise to do justice to the task. It was also pointed out that the
preamble of the Oil and Gar Regulatory Authority Ordinance, 2002
mentioned “effective and efficient regulations” and other “matters connected
therewith or incidental thereto” as the objective of establishment of the
OGRA. Still, it was suggested that the matter should not be seen in pure legal
perspective; all stakeholders should rather take it up in good faith, and as
national duty, and join hands towards solving the problem. Only that given
the stature of the OGRA, it was requested to take a leading role in
safeguarding the national asset.

While the gazetteer was being penned down, the matter was still going back
and forth between the District Administration and the OGRA. One, however,
regrets here that precious time was being lost, and with every passing day
the situation was becoming worse. No wonder one day situation might reach
point of no return and become so complicated that no one would be able to
put it right then.

REVIVAL OF POMEGRANATE CULTIVATION
Pomegranate was once grown over large areas in Tehsil Alipur – on as many
as 4000 acres according to one estimate. Even the 1929 gazetteer considers
them the best in the district. Further research reveals that those

215