HYDERABAD, Feb 9: The Water and Sanitation Agency, Hyderabad Development Authority, has accumulated liabilities to the tune of Rs261.865 million after the suspension of Rs15 million subsidy per annum in 1991 , sources in Wasa told this correspondent.
The sources said the managing director of Wasa in a letter to the Sindh additional chief secretary for local government on Feb 7 had stated that since the creation of the agency in 1977 it had been running into deficit due to disproportionate income and expenditure.
The monthly recovery of Wasa has also dwindled as the recovery demand against government connections amounting to Rs9.345 million is not being paid regularly. Government departments have defaulted in the payment of Rs6.522 million per month.
The total amount of arrears, according to sources, against government departments stood at Rs762.389 million on Dec 31, 2003. Arrears against federal government departments amounted to Rs287.238 million, Sindh government departments Rs449.929 million, district government departments Rs2.030 million and taluka administrations Rs23.192 million, the sources further said.
Wasa operates and maintains 80 pumping stations of sewerage, including the sewerage network passing through residential areas. Several children have drowned in open drains and the incident of Feb 4 in which a minor girl drowned in a drain at the Fateh Chowk led to the registration of an FIR against Wasa officials.
The sources said an allocation was made for manhole covers in the Rs500 million Hyderabad Development Package announced by the Sindh governor but the fund had lapsed on June 30, 2003, and had yet to be revalidated.
They said the agency needed 2,000 manhole covers for three taluka administrations of Hyderabad. Repair of 10,000 feet of damaged walls of open drains and covering of 5,000 feet of open drains passing through densely-populated areas were also required, they added.
Wasa authorities have requested the additional chief secretary to get the lapsed amount of the development package released to enable the agency to repair the damaged drain walls and cover manholes.
WATER SUPPLY: Wasa authorities have said the power breakdown on Monday from 9:30am to 4pm at the new filter plant and the One MGD pumping station on the Jamshoro Road, has affected water supply to different areas of Hyderabad's three talukas.
A spokesman for Wasa said normal water supply would be restored in two to three days, provided there was no further breakdown.
RETIRED EMPLOYEES: DCO Hyderabad is reported to have assured the office-bearers of retired employees welfare association, city council that all problems of the retired employees will be resolved.
In a statement issued on Friday, the office-bearers of the association, Sagir Rajput, Iqbal Shah and Abrar Shah met with the DCO Mohammad Hussain in his office and apprised him of the problems of the retired employees of the city councils.
The matters discussed in the meeting included the preparations of pension books and service books, payment of commutation and gratuity, leave encashment and LPR amount.