KARACHI, Feb 8: The Karachi Water and Sewerage Board has disputed the claims of Karachi Electric Supply Corporation of its being its one of the biggest public-sector defaulter.

“In fact, we are up-to-date in payment of KESC bills as only last month Rs128 million was paid as December 2001 bill,” this was stated by KWSB Managing Director Brig Behram Khan.

During a conversation with a group of newsmen on Friday at the KWSB offices, the attention of Brig Behram was drawn towards the claim of Wapda chairman Lt Gen Zulfiqar Ali Khan that the KWSB was one of the biggest public-sector defaulters of the KESC. ”The KWSB does not want to pay late payment surcharge. I am afraid they will have to pay that”, he had said.

In support of his assertion Gen Zulfiqar had quoted President Gen Pervez Musharraf as saying that “all those public-sector organizations that owed large sums of money to the KESC and Wapda would have to pay up or face disconnection.”

Terming it a case of twisting a statement, Brig Behram said that since he had taken over as KWSB chief in Sept 2000 the KWSB had been paying not only all bills but had also settled back arrears.

He said despite the fact that the KESC bill had shot up from annual Rs300 million of 1998-99 to Rs1.3 billion in 2001, the KWSB had been ensured timely payment of its monthly bill.

Giving a break-down of monthly payment of KESC bills in 2000 and 2001 Brig Behram Khan said that the KWSB had paid Rs97.94 million in October, over Rs107 million in November, Rs104 million in December, Rs 108million in January, Rs109 million in February, Rs90.72 million in March, Rs111.6 million in April, Rs116.96 million in May, Rs116.78 million in June, Rs119 million in July, Rs116.97 in August, Rs126.8 million in September, Rs115.7 million in October and Rs117 million in November.

Answering a question he said that late payment surcharge amount of Rs455 million was being claimed by the KESC which was a disputed amount between the Sindh government and the federal government and as such the decision had to be taken by the government and ultimately the amount had to be waived.

He deplored the assertion of the KESC chief and said that as far as KWSB was concerned, the KWSB was not going to pay the late payment surcharge amount and said that although the KWSB was not a commercial organization but a provider of utility service even on subsidy rates to people but it was being charged commercial rates by the KESC.

The KWSB had not been passing on the 15 per cent sales tax in its bills to customers nor getting any subsidy from the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation for the last two three years which used to be annual Rs210 million, he said and added that all back arrears except late payment surcharge amount had been cleared from Jan 2000 to Sept 2000 and onwards current bills had been paid contrary to the past practice when the KWSB had not been making any payment and Wapda used to deduct the amount at source.

“The KWSB wanted to set up its own power house at Dhabeji as an alternative source in case of a power breakdown but the KESC blocked the proposal by saying that there was no need for a power generation unit as KESC could meet the extra demand of the KWSB from Jamshoro,” he said.