WASA’s financial woes affect rain preps

Agency awaits payment of Rs326m ahead of the rains

HYDERABAD:

As monsoon rains approach amid heightened fears of urban flash floods, the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) is still awaiting the release of Rs326 million from the Sindh government.

However, a WASA official, requesting anonymity, has claimed there is no hope of securing these funds before the arrival of the rains. "So far, the government hasn't even signaled that it is seriously considering our financial requirements," the official laments.

Taking Hyderabad as an example, he says the rain emergency will last three months, from July 15 to October 15, in the city

WASA Managing Director Zahid Hussain Khemtio wrote a letter in this regard to the Sindh local government (LG) secretary on June 17. He also briefed LG minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah about the emergency funds at a meeting in Hyderabad on June 29 and requested their early release, but to no avail.

"WASA is suffering serious financial constraints due to the huge gap between income and expenditure," wrote Khemtio. "WASA has always remained in financial crisis since when it was part of the Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (HMC) and Public Health Engineering Department (PHED). It has never reached the breakeven point," the MD said.

The Sindh government stopped subsidising the agency in 1992. Various attempts over the last three decades to restore the subsidy failed to move the government. "On the other hand, the cost of repair and maintenance, purchase of fuel and chemicals as well as recurrent salary increases have caused a spike in expenses," Khemtio observed.

Out of the total required amount of Rs362 million, WASA intends to spend Rs200 million on the repair and maintenance of machineries, pumps, electrical equipment and vehicles. Another sum of Rs45.765 will be consumed by the fuel for machines and the electricity of generators. This is in addition to Rs24.3 million needed to rent 30 generators for three months at the rate of Rs270,000 per unit each month.

The cleaning of sewers in City, Latifabad and Qasimabad will cost Rs20 million. More than Rs9 million are required for hiring two excavators, four dumpers and six trucks for a period of three months. The daily wages of labour, employed temporarily for three months, will cost Rs13.5 million, according to WASA's estimates.

The agency expects an expenditure of Rs8 million on oil and oil filters and Rs6 million for the purchase manhole covers. When Khemptio presented these figures at the meeting chaired by LG ministers, he ended up raising eyebrows of officers of other concerned departments.

"Last year, deputy commissioner Fuad Ghaffar Soomro actively dealt with the rain situation. But, he spent only Rs45 million out of Rs70 million, returning Rs25 million to the government," an official, requesting anonymity, says.

Accruing arrears

Besides seeking financial support from the provincial government, the incumbent WASA MD has also written to bulk consumers who have defaulted on the payment of billions. On July 5, he requested the secretaries of the labour and industries and commerce departments for payment of dues which have accumulated to Rs231.77 million and Rs481.738 million. These amounts are owed by the Sindh Workers Welfare Board (SWWB) and Sindh Industrial and Trading Estate (SITE), respectively.

"WASA is facing a financial crunch and preparing to deal with the rain emergency. In order to put all the pumping stations in order a financial cushion is needed."

Over a week ago Khemtio, also wrote a letter to the MD of the National Transmission and Dispatch Company to pay Rs342 million in water and sewerage charges for nine grid stations in Hyderabad.

Also, WASA, more than a month ago, sought the help of the Sindh local government secretary to recover water and sewerage dues of Rs456 million from WAPDA Colony, Rs183 million from the Cantonment Board Hyderabad, Rs83.32 million from the Shaheed Umeed Ali Sports Complex and Rs35.7 million from Pakistan Railways, among others.

Interestingly, WASA claims that the Sindh Building Control Authority has approved 24 commercial building projects in Hyderabad without obtaining no objection certificates (NOCs) from WASA. The outstanding dues against the 24 projects amount to more than Rs23 million.

The agency collects NOC, betterment and water connection charges from the commercial buildings. WASA claims that its ever dwindling recoveries from domestic consumers dipped further since the onset of Covid-19 situation in March, 2020.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 8^th, 2021.