HYDERABAD: Residents of this city have been suffering badly in terms of water scarcity, power loadshedding and sanitation issues mainly due to a tug of war between Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) managing director and Hyderabad Development Authority (HDA) director general. The situation aggravated when Wasa employees started a strike over non-payment of their 15 months’ salaries. Several other civic issues, too, have remained unresolved.

The city is facing a crisis-like situation due to a chronic water shortage and unending power loadshedding in spite of the fact that it has a Special Assistant to the CM on city’s Affairs, Saghir Qureshi (who is also PPP’s district president), and a powerful minister, Jam Khan Shoro (who has served as LG minister), from Hyderabad. But even Jam Shoro has not been able to put things on right track. It is the LG department that governs both HDA and Wasa but unfortunately this department has remained irrelevant, leaving the local residents high and dry.

Parts of Latifabad, including units-11 and 12, and the areas of Resham Bazaar, Qasimabad, Hali Road, American Quarters, Paretabad, Phulelli, Liaquat Colony etc are badly hit by an acute shortage of water. “Actually the staff is also not performing because Wasa MD shows arrogance in his work,” said a retired employee who is well versed with affairs of the Agency.

“The MD is absolutely incompetent. Wasa indeed has issues but the very Wasa was managed by his predecessors satisfactorily to a great extent.

This MD is simply incorrigible,” reacted Saghir Qureshi when asked why a worst kind of mismanagement was being seen in Wasa for several months. He said the Sindh government had been informed about this state of affairs.

Wasa MD Zahid Khemtio did not attend this reporter’s calls despite repeated attempts. At a recent meeting with Hyderabad commissioner and relevant officials, he had made it clear that “he is not having financial autonomy; all such powers are exercised by HDA director general Mohammad Sohail”.

Deputy Commissioner Fuad Soomro says that the “MD has his own axe to grind”. Mr Khemtio complains of having been sidelined by the HDA DG insofar as financial powers are concerned. “There is a clear tug of war going on between the two,” the DC observed.

Mr Soomro pointed out that Wasa employees were observing a strike against non-payment of their salaries. “I shudder to think what will happen in upcoming monsoon if issues in Wasa are not fixed; Wasa has made no preparations to this effect at all,” he said. Wasa had some chronic issues that are not being addressed. “Everything has been brought to the notice of Sindh government by me and Hyderabad commissioner,” he added.

Actual issue

HDA DG Mohammad Sohail says that issue is not of fund releases, rather electricity. But, he said, Wasa MD wanted release of Rs2m on a “quotation basis” as submitted by him and this was not in line with the guidelines of the Sindh Public Procurement Authority (SPRA) rules. “An amount of Rs0.3m can be released on the basis of quotation and beyond that all releases are subject to floating of tenders,” he said. He added that the Wasa MD had been complaining of non-release of funds as per his whim ever since his (DG Sohail’s) predecessor was here.

Power supply issue

Mr Sohail also blamed the Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (Hesco) for the prevailing water crisis. “Hesco is suspending power supply to our water pumping stations under its load management schedule. This is affecting us badly although we have asked them to plan load management as per our water supply schedule so that residents should not suffer. But Hesco pays no heed,” he said.

On Wednesday (April 20) evening, executive engineer city was relieved of his post by DG HDA in view of Qadamgah Maula Ali sewerage problem and Mohammad Ali Baig was given the charge. The XEN was ill and could not attend DG’s call. Interestingly one XEN Sabir Qureshi was having multiple charges i.e. XEN city, Latifabad, and Paretabad (water supply) under some recommendation. “The XEN is already overburdened yet is given another charge to please someone,” said an official.

The 15 months’ salary of employees was yet to be cleared by HDA once the relevant summary is approved by Sindh government. Reports said that the summary of Rs744m was sent to the chief minister for release of funds but the amount was curtailed to Rs372.297m as grant in aid but it is still pending.

Even the curtailed amount has not been released yet. The summary pertains to payment of salary from Nov 2020 to Aug 2021 and now liabilities for remaining months till March 2022 have accumulated. These liabilities included pension as well.

“A query was sent to HDA regarding strength of Wasa’s work-charge employees. This query has been responded. Sindh government wants to downsize the number of work-charge employees to lessen Wasa’s financial burden,” said a Wasa official.

“How can work-charge employees’ strength be slashed?” wondered one official. “No fresh appointments have been made in Wasa for about two decades. The city is growing fast. There used to be one filtration plant but now there are four as two more plants — Hussainabad and Latifabad unit-4 — will start producing filtered water; otherwise these two plants are currently supplying raw water,” said another official.

According to DG, an amount of Rs25-30m is being paid to Wasa under the head of ‘maintenance’ which was otherwise Rs15m until before he took over. “We have expenditures of Rs100m while recovery remained at Rs45m and with this recovery, three months’ salaries of work-charge employees, two months’ pension and two months’ salaries of regular employees are disbursed,” he said.

Published in Dawn, April 25th, 2022