KWSB opts for electromagnetic metres to stop theft
A technician from Karachi Electric , Pakistan's largest city's power supply company, checks electricity meters at a residential building in Karachi, on May 13, 2010. PHOTO: AFP
The administration of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) has decided to install electromagnetic meters in hydrants as well as at industries and factories to ensure large scale users are billed the right amount for usage.
It was recently revealed that that water meters installed at hundreds of factories and mills (of textile, dyeing, ceramic and others) in the industrial zone had meters that had been tampered with. Moreover, officials of the water board’s Revenue and Resources Generation (RRG) department had colluded with factory and mill owners, in which readings were also forged. The factory owners are able to pay only a fraction of the cost of water used. This water, used without any check, is part of the water sold at premium price to residents across the city.
The KWSB has now decided to take action against those causing losses to the national exchequer under Code-9.
The management had already taken action against officials in the RRG department. They have also cracked down on what they said were people used in illegal actions in the powerful meter division.
Sources within the water board say the ‘reform team’ has been mobilized to stop the organised theft of water and the recovery of bills. The source added that the factories in industrial areas were one such group of offenders. “With the alleged connivance of the officers of the RRG Department and meter division, meters were installed at hundreds of industries, include textile mills, dyeing units and other bulk consumers,” the source claimed.
The source said that the exchequer was deprived of billions of rupees every month through such fraudulent practices. “The bigger forgery takes place in meter reading.”
The source revealed that meters were installed at several major factories were broken and had not been repaired due to criminal negligence. It allowed meter readers to make preferred assessments, the source said, adding that it made a difference of millions in the final bill.
Sources added that the ‘criminal network’ in meter division was highly organized. “The water board’s reform team will have to not give in to political pressure if it wants to take action against such individuals,” the source added.
In this regard, the sources further say that the water board authorities have decided to install electromagnetic meters in industries and factories like hydrants, which has caused a lot of confusion in the system of the revenue department and meter division.
Sources added that the water board’s monthly recovery was likely to increase tremendously in case of accurate billing from industries as per meter reading.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 17th, 2023.