LAHORE, May 29: Wapda has received an ‘unprecedented’ subsidy of Rs27 billion to meet its deficit for the current fiscal year. With this amount, the total subsidy given to the authority during the last five years has hit the figure of Rs107 billion.

According to sources in the Ministry of Water and Power, the Establishment Division had approved a supplementary grant of Rs21.612bn to Wapda on May 21, which was endorsed by the Finance Division the same day. The authority had already received Rs5.457 billion, thus taking the subsidy amount to over Rs27 billion this fiscal year.

Wapda has received Rs80 billion over the last four years. An expert on economic matters said that only 60 per cent of Pakistani population benefited from Wapda, but the government had diverted almost 0.5 per cent of the current GDP to compensate what he alleged to be inefficiency of Wapda management.

The amount could have been used for setting up schools, providing clean water and health cover to people, the expert said.