30 January 2005	Sunday	19 Zilhaj 1425

LAHORE, Jan 29: The Water and Sanitation Agency has decided to launch another campaign for recovery of its arrears worth Rs896 million from 104,904 defaulters from Feb 1.

The agency has decided to offer 30 per cent concession to the defaulters ready to pay arrears in lumpsum till the end of February. It will then constitute teams for visiting their premises for recovery. Only 2,031 defaulters obliged the agency by paying a total of Rs63 million despite district Nazim Mian Amer Mahmood's offer of waiving 30 per cent of the arrears after spending a considerable amount on the advertisement campaign last year.

He also threatened to entrust recoveries to private contractors in the event of a lukewarm response to his offer for paying only 70 per cent of the charges but approved the proposal to offer 30 per cent concession to convince the defaulters to clear the arrears once again.

The number of Wasa defaulters is increasing with the passage of time on account of its failure to devise an effective strategy for the recovery of its arrears. Every 5th consumer is a defaulter of a total of 500,000 at present. The agency continues declaring its consumers defaulters and serving disconnection notices on them but desists from doing so on humanitarian grounds and raises the water supply and sewerage charges for consumers paying the bills after a few years.