March 28, 2008	Friday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 19, 1429

RAWALPINDI, March 27: Different government departments in the twin cities owe around Rs2 billion to the Islamabad Electricity Supply Company (Iesco) after defaulting on utility charges during the last couple of years, it has been learnt.

These government offices were supposed to pay their bills by February, but the electricity distributor has not received a single penny so far, Iesco officials, who requested anonymity, told Dawn on Thursday.

The Iesco bosses have now summoned a meeting on Friday to discuss various options to recover the outstanding amount, according to the officials.

Most of the defaulters are stated to be strong ones and they cannot be unplugged by the power distribution company.

“We are helpless as we can neither disconnect electricity to these offices nor we are in a position to collect the dues by exerting pressure.

“What we can only do is to request them after convening a meeting of senior officers today (Friday),” Deputy Commercial Manager, Rawalpindi Circle, Shahjahan Khan told this reporter.

It is pertinent to mention here that last August, arrears on part of the government offices were Rs1.26 billion, while in just seven months the figure had swelled to nearly Rs2 billion. The defaulting offices include autonomous bodies, federal and provincial institutions, district offices and military departments.

Recently, the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) had candidly said the organisation was suffering Rs77 billion losses annually.

According to unrevised details, arrears of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) government’s offices functioning in Rawalpindi have accumulated to Rs510 million in a year.

The Military Engineering Services (MES), also known as the Garrison Engineering Army Services, has to pay Rs375 million dues, followed by Chaklala Cantonment Board (Rs134 million).

The General Headquarters (GHQ) has to make payment of over Rs9 million to Iesco, while the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) is defaulting on Rs105 million electricity charges.

The Punjab Police has not paid Rs105.8 million, and the Iesco officials complain that they often get a perverse response from the police department after serving notices on it.

The Capital Development Authority (CDA) and the Pakistan Railway (PR) are yet to pay Rs10 million and Rs6 million, respectively, while the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology (AFIC) owes Rs12 million to Iesco.

Similarly, Pakistan Public Works Department (Pak-PWD), Garrison Engineering Air, National Logistics Corporation (NLC), Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) and the Pakistan Telecommunication Company (PTCL) are to pay Rs33 million, Rs47 million, Rs2 million, Rs1.7 million and Rs4 million, respectively.

Even the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) is no exception, and it currently owes Rs1.5 million to Iesco. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) also has to make a payment of Rs2 million.

Other government departments that have not paid power bills amounting to Rs1 million include Airport Security Force (ASF), Army Heritage, town municipal administrations (TMAs) and government schools and colleges.