LAHORE, April 9: The Punjab government will provide an assistance of around Rs200 million to the Water and Sanitation Agency of the Lahore Development Authority to prevent an increase in water supply rates in the provincial metropolis.

The assistance is to be provided to Wasa to prevent an increase in water supply rates in the provincial metropolis by enabling the agency to meet its budget deficit on account of increase in its electricity bill.

The agency sought the permission to increase water supply rates or reduce the duration of water supply for balancing the increase in its expenditure due to enhanced power supply rate.

Wasa expenditure during the current financial year is expected to be Rs1,480 million whereas its income is not expected to exceed Rs1,261 million. High electricity bill is the major component of Wasa budget. It’s monthly electricity bill has increased from an average Rs25 million in 1993 to over Rs70 million per month at present.

Wapda upset the agency budget in 1998 when it was being billed in accordance with the agricultural tariff and paying the bill at the rate of Rs2,60 unit. Wapda decided to charge the agency in accordance with the domestic tariff, raising the power supply rate to around Rs8 per unit, ignoring the fact that it was a public utility organization and would be constrained to raise the water supply rates for footing the inflated bill.

Wapda declined a Wasa request to revert to billing in accordance with the agricultural tariff and decided to bill it in accordance with the tariff prescribed for the SCARP tubewells i.e. Rs5.50 to Rs6 per unit. Even this resulted in over 100 per cent increase in Wasa power supply bill.

The agency is supplying an average 300 million gallons of water par day to Lahorites from its 326 tubewells at present.