KARACHI:
While millions of households in Karachi go without clean drinking water for
days despite having pipelines, those with direct connections in the water board
enjoy a free home-delivery service.
Karachi
Water and Sewerage Board’s (KWSB) water tankers are supplying water worth
millions of rupees to houses of government functionaries, bureaucrats,
parliamentarians and ministers on a daily basis. The chief minister and
governor houses, several serving and retired judges and many VIPs living in the
city are among those enjoying this free facility.
These
revelations came during a meeting of the Sindh Assembly’s Public Accounts
Committee (PAC) on Wednesday, where audit director for local governments
Muhammad Ali Shah briefed the financial watchdog about the KWSB audit for the
year 2010-11.
During
the whole year, tankers operating from different hydrants across the city
provided water worth Rs23.9 million to the chief minister and governor houses
but were not paid for the service, the auditor told the PAC members. “Both the
official residences enjoy a separate budget provision for drinking water, then
why was the KWSB still providing the facility free of charge?”
The
meeting, presided over by PAC chairperson Jam Tamachi Unar, took strong
exception to the study and asked the KWSB managing director, Misbahuddin Farid,
to explain the matter.
Farid
replied the practice has been going on for years but still regular bills are
issued to them. “We inherited this problem. We cannot disconnect water supply
to these people,” he said, claiming that judges were the biggest beneficiaries
of the free water service.
“We
will not accept your argument or settle this irregularity unless you improve
your system,” Unar retorted, directing the KWSB chief to call on the relevant
authorities to recover the amount.
The
water board earns Rs5 billion but pays Rs7 billion in utility bills alone. “We
are facing severe financial constraints and have no money to even pay our
employees,” Farid said. The director audit said the KWSB provided residential
accommodation to its employees but has failed to recover the charges of
electricity. “The bills were, however, paid in the budget,” Shah pointed out.
A
PAC member, MPA Shama Mithani, suggested deducting the arrears from the
salaries of the officers but the KWSB chief interrupted, saying the Karachi
Electric Supply Company will be asked to install separate meters.
[The
Express Tribune, January 24, 2013]
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