Hyderabad WASA calls for financial assistance

Drainage, water supply issues persist, agency cites Rs30m gap between monthly revenue, expenses

HYDERABAD: As the water supply and drainage woes in Hyderabad remain widespread, Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) continues to beat around the bush of income and expenditure disparity while reiterating the demand for financial assistance. The agency's finance director, Mohsin Jaffery, pointed to an over Rs30 million per month gap between the revenue and expenses at a meeting on Wednesday.

According to him, the agency has recently augmented its monthly revenue collection from Rs39.4 million to Rs44.4 million. However, the monthly expenses stand at around Rs77 million, including Rs65 million paid under the head of salaries and pensions, he added.

Through its four operational filter plants, out of the total of five, the agency is supplying around 60 million gallons per day (MGD) to the city where the actual demand is estimated to be over 75 MGD. Jaffery said the water supply has been further impeded by power outages which remain unruly despite repeated complaints to Hyderabad Electric Supply Company.

WASA's consumer base is around 15 million but only 40 percent of the consumers pay the water bills, the finance director said. He apprised the meeting that WASA has put forward a set of four demands to the provincial government but none of them have been accepted so far.

"Being the lower riparian of Indus river, Hyderabad's filtration plant has to take extra measures to filter polluted water of Indus river. This also requires additional funds for the filtration processes." He put the annual cost of chemicals used for the filtration at Rs106 million and said that the Sindh government has been asked to foot the bill.

The provincial government pays Rs125 million to WASA for water bills on behalf of all consumer departments of the Sindh government. But, WASA contends that the actual billing has been calculated at Rs471 million per year and that the provincial government should pay accordingly.

"All the WASAs operating in different cities of the country have been receiving subsidy from provincial governments. But Sindh government stopped subsidizing WASA in 1992." Jaffery said the province has been requested to resume the subsidy.

Hyderabad Division Commissioner Muhammad Abbass Baloch, who chaired the meeting, told WASA to conduct a thorough and independent audit of its income and expenditures. He asked WASA's officials to submit a report to his office about the steps they have taken so far to increase their earnings and streamline the expenses. The meeting also discussed arrangements for the upcoming monsoon rains.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 4^th, 2019.