Ali told a press conference on Thursday that the provincial government has to pay Rs27 billion to the Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (Hesco) and the Sukkur Electric Power Company (Sepco).
The two companies supply electricity to the whole province, except Karachi. According to Ali, a similar request has been made to the Punjab govt who owes Rs40 billion.
The Sindh government has earmarked Rs26 billion in its current budget for the payment of electricity bills. Ali asked, however, the Sindh chief minister Qaim Ali Shah to clear the dues by June 30. “If the government has any complaints regarding overbilling, it should immediately sort out the matters with Hesco and Sepco.”
He also warned Hyderabad’s Water and Sanitation Agency to pay its bills that have accumulated to around Rs7 billion to prevent disconnection.
Private consumers owe Hesco approximately Rs17 billion, he revealed. The minister complained that the police did not cooperate with officials of the power utilities. He claimed that 748 complaints were registered in police stations across Sindh, but only around 40 FIRs were registered against electricity theft and threats to officers.
The minister added that an inquiry had been launched to investigate the deaths of nine Hesco and Sepco workers who had been electrocuted in recent months.
He assured that scheduled load-shedding will be reduced by two to three hours during the month of Ramazan. Ali claimed that power generation capacity has increased to 19,500 megawatts (MW) but the power transmission system’s capacity is limited to 15,500 MW.
IDPs
The minister also urged the provincial government to open its borders for the internally displaced people of Waziristan. “They are also Pakistani. There should be no restriction on their movement.”
Ali criticised the Pakistan Awami Tehreek chief Allama Tahirual Qadri for distracting the nation from the Zarb-e-Azb. “They are performing a drama to divert the nation’s interests and support from the operation,” he said. Ali also blamed the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf chief Imran Khan for joining hands with Qadri to topple the government.
Ali invited Khan to cooperate with the govt to deal with issues of national importance.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 27th, 2014.
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Yeah, all the IDPs are Paksitani except the people of Sindh who have bore this excruciating burden of these thankless IDPs which was the reasons behind the economical collapse and deteriorating law & order then in 1980's/90s and the history would revive the same era if the influx of IDPs is not monitored while entering into Sindh border.
Somehow, the federal minister failed to emphasize his own Punjab government on accommodating & facilitating the IDPs cause lets face it the Punjab is only for Punjabis, while the rest of the Pakistan is also for for Punjabis. Bravo*