HESCO told to pay death compensation in 30 days

President orders internal inquiry into 'undue delays' in payment

ISLAMABAD:

President Dr Arif Alvi expressed on Wednesday dismay over the "undue delay" in the payment of compensation by the Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (HESCO) to a complainant on account of the electrocution of his wife and son eight years ago, and directed it to make the reparation within 30 days.

The president regretted the delay in the payment of the compensation and said the HESCO must comply with the order of the federal ombudsman, ensuring the payment of the compensation within 30 days.

He also directed an internal inquiry into the reasons of the delay and ordered the submission of a report on the matter to the federal ombudsman within 30ndays.

The wife and son of complainant Muhammad Umer Siddiqui, a resident of Latifabad, Hyderabad lost their lives as a result of electrocution due to the breakage of an 11 kilvolt high tension wire on September 8, 2012. The complainant, Muhammad Umer had applied for the compensation, but on receiving no response, he approached the federal ombudsman. The HESCO has admitted before the ombudsman that the accident occurred as a result of its negligence and the case for payment of compensation had already been forwarded to its board of directors.

During the proceedings, the representative of HESCO, Ali Khan Jamali, undertook the task to get the approval for the payment of compensation within a period of 60 days.

On his assurance, the federal ombudsman has closed the inquiry, albeit advising the HESCO to pay the compensation within the due course of time by May 7, 2019.

The HESCO had neither filed a review petition nor challenged the ruling within the stipulated 30-day period. However, it did file a petition after seven months, on December 4, 2019, but the petition was rejected.

It later filed a representation with President Dr Arif Alvi on March 12, 2020 but that, too, was dismissed with the direction to probe into the delay in the payment of compensation and ensure the payment within 30 days.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 27^th, 2020.