KARACHI, March 22: The Karachi Development Authority and the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation squabble over outstanding dues as hundreds of people who visit the offices of the KDA suffer every day because of the non-availability of electricity in the Civic Centre.

The power supply to the Civic Centre was disconnected by the KESC on March 15 on the plea that the KDA owes more than Rs44 million to the power utility. The KDA disputes the KESC claim, insisting that actually the KESC owes more than Rs67 million to the KDA.

A visit to the Civic Centre on Friday revealed that working of most of the departments of the KDA is being badly hampered due to the non-availability of electricity.

Though the KDA has made temporary arrangements for providing electricity to a few of its departments by means of a power generator, most of its departments are still without electricity, causing hardships to both staff and the visitors.

Sources in the KDA told Dawn that at a meeting on Feb 12 the KESC had stated said that the amount payable by the water wing of the KDA (which had been made the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board in 1982) had been Rs95.44 million. They added that the KESC had stated that the amount payable by the KDA had been Rs22.7 million. The total amount payable had come to Rs118.172 million.

They said according to an agreement signed by the KESC and the KDA in October 1987, the latter had paid Rs70.288 million as 10 yearly instalments. Besides, it had given 11 plots worth Rs0.430 million to the KESC.

It had also given some space in the Civic Centre to the KESC worth Rs3.35 million. The total amount that the KDA had paid to the KESC had been Rs74.068 million. The balance had been Rs44.103 million.

The KDA sources said that between 1993 and 1999, the federal government had made at-sources deductions worth Rs111.954 million from releases to the KDA and had given the amount to the KESC. The KDA had written a letter to the KESC on March 7, saying that Rs111.954 million had been paid to the KESC between 1993 and 1999.

The KESC had written back to the KDA on March 12, claiming that the amount had been adjusted in bills.

The sources said that the KESC had been asked to explain how such a great amount had been adjusted in monthly power bills and yet the payment had not been enough to meet the KESC dues.

“Despite several reminders to the KESC, the power company has not responded and disconnected the power supply arrogantly.”

When contacted, the KESC principal information officer said the KDA owed more than Rs44 million to the KESC.

Meanwhile, people visiting the Civic Centre continued to face problems.

Elderly people had no choice but to reach the upper floors of the multi-storeyed Civic Centre by climbing stairs as only one lift was operational through generator and it, too, was overburdened.

A number of people who were standing inside or in front of different departments of the KDA complained that the employees were either taking no interest in doing their work or handling files at such a slow pace that a piece of work that normally required only half an hour was being done in two to three hours.

An elderly person, who had been visiting the KDA’s land department in connection with the transfer of a plot for the last two days, told Dawn that he had once again been asked by the officials of the department to come later as the staff could not find his file due to the non-availability of electricity.