10 July 2004	Saturday	21 Jamadi-ul-Awwal 1425

KARACHI, July 9: Chief Minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim has said that power theft is possible only with the connivance of KESC officials and the ultimate burden is shifted to genuine consumers by increasing tariff.

He was speaking at a meeting of the National Assembly's standing committee on water and power here on Friday. He noted that there were simple solutions to the main problems being faced by the KESC provided its mode of working was corrected.

He recalled that a few years back, when he was a member of the NA standing committee, the then KESC MD had rejected the proposal of bulk power supply to SITE Association of Industry which had made this offer to save the utility from all kinds of reported line losses and pilferage and to check interference by KESC officials into industries' matters on this ground.

"The (then) MD had retorted that in case of bulk power supply to them, we would lose control," the CM said, adding that these KESC high-ups would never soften their control over the consumers.

He said it was KESC officials which encouraged and facilitated power theft and pilferage against financial considerations. "They would not even touch kundas or illegal connections and act only when their interests are not served by the users," he remarked.

Dr Arbab said the utilities like KESC also contributed towards public strikes and rallies due to their poor services and apathetic attitude towards the consumers. He said his government would extend all facilities and support to the KESC, having a vast population of Karachi as its consumers, to strengthen its structure and also revamp itself.

However, he cautioned, KESC would be held accountable in case it failed to deliver goods to the consumers despite all support and subsidies. He mentioned said that he had allotted a piece of land to the KESC for setting up a power plant, a project which had remained pending for want of land since long.

He also expressed his resentment over the average/inflated power bills being issued to the consumers. "People get bills for power which they do not consume. This is too much," he remarked.

He noted that KESC officials even did not accept requests by poor consumers for payment of their bills in instalments. Dr Arbab said he would always support and protect consumers of all utilities, including those of KESC. He proposed that tariffs of utilities, including telephone, be cut down to common man's affordability. -APP