WASA seeks major grant hike

Relief package also sought to clear liabilities

DIJKOT:

The Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) has requested the housing and urban development department to enhance its annual grant to Rs1 billion from Rs262 million in addition go a relief package amounting to Rs2.6 billion to clear liabilities that were outstanding till last December.

As per a summary addressed to the provincial housing and urban development secretary, WASA is functioning as a public service agency providing potable water and sanitation services in its jurisdiction and generating it’s own revenue with minimum financial assistance from the Punjab government.

However, the agency is facing a financial crisis because the water and sanitation tariff has not been hiked since 2006 whereas the operational expenditure has increased manifold, especially due to increase in electricity, fuel, pension salary expenses.

The power tariff category of WASA was changed in 2018 to the industrial sector at Rs13.75 per unit. The category was changed to general services at Rs.27.20 per unit in April 2021, while the current rate is Rs55.

WASA claimed that it spent Rs958 per household on water supply Rs879 on sewerage disposal monthly.

However, it charges Rs120 and Rs90 per household per month for the services.

The organisation has 1,495 pensioners WASA has 326,000 regular consumers in Faisalabad and even if it registers all households and collects 100 per cent revenue, its monthly income will be insufficient to meet the monthly expenditure of Rs284 million in the summer.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 23^rd, 2023.