WASA tightens noose on defaulters

Agency exceeds revenue recovery target by Rs116 million in eight months

RAWALPINDI:

The Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) has exceeded its revenue recovery target by collecting Rs1,697 million (Rs1.697 billion) over the past eight months, compared to the set target of Rs1,581m. The agency has decided to tighten its actions against defaulters by disconnecting their water supply connections and sewerage services.

A meeting to review WASA's revenue recovery performance was held under the chairmanship of Managing Director Muhammad Saleem Ashraf. The meeting was attended by the Director of Revenue, Deputy Director of Revenue, and other relevant revenue staff.

During the meeting, the Director of Revenue presented a report. The MD said that the revenue recovery target for the first eight months of the current financial year was Rs1,581m, but as of February 28, 2025, Rs1,697m had been recovered, exceeding the target by Rs116m.

Furthermore, last month, a record recovery of over Rs250m was made, and so far this month, over Rs210m has been recovered despite the ongoing month of Ramazan. Ashraf expressed confidence that the recovery target would be met in the coming days.

During the meeting, the MD praised the staff and officers who demonstrated excellent performance in revenue recovery and commended their efforts.

At the same time, staff and officers with lower recovery rates were warned and instructed to improve their performance. The MD emphasised that WASA is a self-financing institution and that all its expenses were met through its own resources, so there would be no tolerance for any shortfall in revenue recovery.

The MD gave a special ultimatum to all officers to ensure 100% recovery of dues from defaulters and instructed the Revenue Director and Deputy Directors to immediately disconnect the services of defaulters.

The MD also announced that this would be the final warning for defaulters to clear their outstanding dues. After this, penalties for late fees, restrictions on installment payments, property confiscation, arrests, and disconnection of water and sewerage services would be enforced.

He urged WASA customers to pay their dues on time to demonstrate responsible citizenship. He also reaffirmed his commitment that the crackdown would continue until the last defaulter is dealt with, stressing that no pressure would be tolerated in this regard.

The Managing Director also assured the public that the crackdown on defaulters would be carried out with full transparency and accountability. He urged all WASA customers to cooperate by settling their outstanding bills promptly to avoid the penalties and service disruptions.