Free electricity to RCB residences detected

The Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) has finally awoken to its extended slumber after providing free electricity to the employees residing in the allotted residencies in its jurisdiction.

Sources disclosed that the RCB had been providing electricity connections from tube wells to its employees in government residences for several years without installing electricity metres.

The RCB bore the brunt of heavy electricity bills incurred by these government residencies as the residents did not have to pay bills as no electricity metres were installed at these residences.

According to the sources, the RCB has now issued notices to the residents seeking recoveries of more than Rs6 million in arrears.

The sources said that the notices had also been issued for those who have retired or been transferred to other stations.

The sources said that after the detection of the free electricity connections, RCB Chief Executive Officer Imran Gulzar has issued directives to the authorities concerned to install electricity meters at the government residences immediately.

The sources said that the non-existence of electricity meters at the RCB's government residences in Gawalmandi and other areas has raised serious questions about the performance of the board's electric department and administrative discipline.

The sources said that several employees of the board, who used to live in these residences, have either retired or been transferred to other stations and it was nigh impossible to make recoveries from them.

The sources said that electricity connections of the employees of these residents have also been connected to street lights by the electric department of the Cantonment board.

The sources said that these employees continue to use free electricity while the cantonment board pays their electricity bills under the expensive electricity tariff for tube wells and street lights.

The sources said that at the board meeting, a list of serving, retired and transferred employees, who had used free electricity, was presented and the board approved making recoveries to the tune of Rs6,046,722.

The sources also said that letters have also been dispatched to executive officers of other boards to deduct their (RCB) dues from the salaries of the transferred employees every month and send it to the RCB. The sources said that orders have also been issued to deduct the sum from the pensions of the retired employees, who lived in the RCB allotted residences.

Meanwhile, residents of RCB Ward-9 staged a protest demonstration after the board severed connections of small tube well connections of several houses.

The protesting residents said that the RCB has failed to provide uninterrupted water to the residents and now it has resorted to closing down the boring tube wells, from where hundreds of people fetch free water every day.

They said that despite paying water and property taxes, the RCB was not providing basic facilities to the residents.

They said that if the RCB ensures to provide water to the residents, they will stop boring wells and instead construct tanks for storing supply water.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 27^th, 2022.