0
GUJRANWALA, Dec 18: The Punjab Civil Secretariat refused to give approval for the provision of a Rs250 million grant to the Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa), Gujranwala, despite the enhancement of water tariff by 40 percent, it was learned here on Thursday.
The source revealed that the Punjab government was pressing the Wasa to enhance water tariff by 40 percent on the advice of international donor agencies for the grant of Rs250 million. But the Wasa was reluctant to raise the tariff for fear of strong protest by citizens despite its week financial position.
Finally, the Wasa increased the tariff while governing body chairman and City Nazim Babu Javed Ahmad gave its approval and informed the Punjab government a few days ago for the release of the special grant.
The source said the Punjab government had forwarded the case to the Civil Secretariat to release the grant to Wasa. But the bureaucracy reportedly created hurdles and refused to release the grant on the pretext of fresh survey of the sewerage scheme.
Meanwhile, City Nazim Babu Javed expressed the hope that he would get released the grant after meeting with the chief minister.
PROTEST: The Bricks Manufacturers Association strongly protested over the shortage of raw material and fire clay and demanded their immediate availability otherwise the brick industry would suffer severe crisis.
Talking to newsmen here on Thursday, the association president Engineer Muhammad Arshad said that about 50 percent fire bricks factories had already been closed on account of shortage of raw material and fire clay.
He apprehended that hundreds of workers would be rendered jobless due to the closure of these factories.
He pointed out that around 100,000 ton fire clay per annum was being dug from a mountain of Attock, but the government had stopped the work in June last year and started providing fire clay from its stock. Now the administration of the fire clay stock had refused to supply it to manufacturers.
