GUJRANWALA, Jan 3: The Water and Sanitation Agency is facing financial crunch due to its failure to recover outstanding dues of Rs360 million from consumers in the last several years.

“The agency has not been able to get back money under the heads of water supply and sewerage despite issuing notices to the defaulters and severing connections,” according to Wasa Managing Director Tariq Mahmood.

At a meeting held here on Saturday, chaired by Punjab Housing and Public Health Secretary Mazhar Ali Khan, Mr Mahmood said the total number of consumers in the city was 89,600. He said sewerage and water supply charges had been fixed separately in accordance with measurement of the land of houses.

But most consumers had not been paying the charges of water supply and sewerage for the last several years, making the public utility face financial crunch. It was unable to clear the electricity bills of disposal works and pumps, besides facing difficulties in meeting the expenditure of offices, he said.

He said some parliamentarians had suggested that Wasa’s outstanding dues should be recovered through electricity bills.

Some officials proposed that the agency officials should be offered three per cent commission as a reward for recovery of outstanding dues.