LHC hears petition against tariff hike

Court ask joint secretary for water and power to appear on November 1.

LAHORE:

Chief Justice of Lahore High Court Umar Ata Bandial, while hearing a fresh application challenging the recent increase in power tariff, directed Joint Secretary for Water and Power Zargam Ishaq Khan to appear before the court on November 1 with all relevant records.

The Judicial Activism Panel Chairman Muhammad Azhar Siddique has filed the application in his already pending petition against loadshedding and electricity theft.

He had submitted that the federal government has put an undue burden on the citizens. Without overcoming the line losses due to power theft, poor performance of the inefficient DISCOs, overburdened due to administrative cost as well as failure to build dams, the government has no right to increase power tariff.

He submitted that the recent increase of the electricity tariff by reducing the subsidy is an act of violation of Articles 9, 14, 18, 23, 24 and 25 of the Constitution. Siddique further said it was part of the record that during the hearing of main case, the court had directed the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) and others to file detail of payments made to IPPs on account of circular debt and also decrease of tariff with reference to certain prices.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 29^th, 2013.