WASA to hold conference on meters
The Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) has decided to hold a conference of national and international companies after failing to manufacture meters in collaboration with the private sector.
According to sources, inattention of the government, unavailability of funds and mistrust of the private sector are leading to an increase in the losses caused by water connections given by WASA without meters to domestic and commercial consumers and welfare institutions across the city.
In addition to loss of millions of rupees to the exchequer annually, the depletion of underground water level and illegal connections are also on the rise.
Efforts by WASA to start local production of meters in collaboration with the private sector has failed.
Now the WASA management has decided to convene a conference for the purpose and invite national and international companies in collaboration with the Human Capital Investment Authority.
The subsidiary organisation was set up to provide clean drinking water and better sewerage facilities to the citizens across the city. Initially, water connections were provided to the citizens for average monthly charges.
The large and small houses, shops, hotels, restaurants, factories and other domestic and commercial users received a reasonable amount of water and it was also increased to some extent, but the process of collecting bills according to the level of consumption could not be started. Lack of meters also resulted in wasteful use of water and illegal connections.
WASA requested the present and previous governments several times for installation domestic and commercial meters for the water connections, but the devices have not been installed.
Lahore currently has about 750,000 water connections of the domestic, commercial and other categories, of which 56,000 are commercial, 490,000 domestic and the rest of mosques, seminaries and other institutions.
WASA is receiving about Rs500 million annually on account of bills and from private housing schemes and other consumers that are using groundwater under the aquifer system.
Of the revenue, Rs300 million is being collected from domestic and Rs150 million from commercial users and the rest from other sectors.
Billions of rupees are needed to install the meters.
After not receiving the money, WASA invited private companies for investment in collaboration with the Punjab Human Capital Investment Authority.
All the companies were briefed in detail that manufacturing the meters would cost about Rs15 billion.
When tenders were invited by WASA, they were received from 10 companies but only one of them submitted the document expressing interest in the project. Due to disinterest of the companies, the project could not go ahead.
For persuading national and international companies to set up a meter industry, WASA officials have again decided to convene a conference of their owners before in collaboration with the investment authority before issuing tenders.
The sources said the conference is being held so that the obstacles and problems faced by the companies in setting up the meter industry and issues related to government policies can be removed.
WASA officials are planning to convene the conference and an announcement in this regard is likely soon.
WASA currently needs 740,000 residential and commercial meters. However, as the city limits increase, so will the number of meters. According to a recent WASA survey, metering of citywide connections will reduce water wastage and increase its income by more than 25 per cent.
WASA Managing Director Syed Zahid Aziz told The Express Tribune that it is necessary to install meters for all connections in the city. He said that because of the step people would not waste water and this would help raise the groundwater level.
The said the cost of meters had to be paid by the consumer and illegal water connections would be eliminated, while the revenue of the government would increase as a result of the plan.
He said that conference of companies was being convened so that their reservations regarding the investment could be removed. The conference would be held soon, he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 9th, 2020.