'Pay debt or face more power cuts'

Senior minister asks government to clear dues of power companies

LAHORE: Senior Punjab Minister Abdul Aleem Khan has warned that electricity outages may increase by two to four hours if the government fails to take immediate steps to clear outstanding dues of power companies.

“The past government was running all affairs on an adhoc basis. Mismanagement by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is an eye opener for entire nations,” the senior minister said. He added that in the power sector alone, Rs9 billion were payable to companies. Aleem continued that load-shedding would increase if immediate steps were not taken.

Presiding over a Punjab Energy Department meeting, in which Bhikkhi, the solar park, thermal and coal projects came under discussion. The senior minister said billions of rupees were showered in the name of ending power load-shedding by the previous regimes. However, he claimed many projects were merely shown on paper and nothing more. “The public exchequer was wasted on unnecessary publicity and the results showed nothing,” he maintained.

Aleem claimed that due to his personal efforts, the closure of Bhikkhi was stopped and his intervention assured the continuity of the plant to produce electricity. He said the federal government would be taken into the loop in the future for all such matters. He assured that a meeting would be held in Islamabad by next week with federal ministers and authorities concerned.

He asked Energy Department officials to prepare recommendations, keeping in view the ground realities. He said these suggestions would be geared towards ensuring the continuity of the existing projects on a permanent basis and the resolution of pressing issues.

Khan also presided over meetings of the Health, Education, Industries, Tourism and Women Development departments. During these moots, ministers and secretaries were present to discuss the young government’s 100-day plan.

He said that the high hopes of the masses must be taken into consideration. He hoped that the Punjab government would be able to devise concrete and solid plans during these 100 days. Aleen said the establishment of a strong foundation would allow these plans to be completed over the coming years.

He added that authorities must ensure the prompt and inexpensive provision of basic facilities of life to everyone. The minister urged every department to put its best food forward for the purpose and do its homework thoroughly.

Aleem said that present government had inherited a number of chronic issues which are causing hurdles in the running of state affairs. However, he maintained that the PTI-led regime would soon evolve a strategy to overcome the situation and bring practical changes in every sphere of life. He asked senior officers to start their workings based on facts and take remedial measures to provide maximum relief to the common man.

Meanwhile, Provincial Minister for Finance Hasham Jawaan Bakhat and Irrigation Minister Mohsin Leghari called on Aleem at his office and deliberated over the 100 days plan. The performance of the respective departments of these ministers also came up for discussion. The senior minister said the Punjab government would present a budget based on real facts. He also stressed on the need to solve pending issues in Irrigation Department and assured his complete cooperation in this regard.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 19^th, 2018.