Rs 10.5 billion Wapda dues: appointment of 'chartered accountant' likely to resolve issue

The Sindh government is likely to appoint a chartered accountant to amicably resolve outstanding dues issue between Sindh government and Wapda amounting Rs 10.5 billion, it is reliably learnt. The federal government had warned the provincial government to immediately clear the dues or it would deduct the amount at source and transfer it to the respective authorities, an official of the Finance Ministry told Business Recorder on Saturday.
He said the provincial government had time and again urged the federal government to reconsider the issue of inflated electricity bills instead of pressuring the provincial government and deducting Rs 10.5 billion from Sindh share. "The Sindh government is seeking centre's positive role in resolving the Sindh government-Wapda dispute, otherwise the issue may get aggravated", he added.
He said that the Hyderabad Electric Supply Corporation (Hesco) had issued inflated power bills of Rs 10.5 billion for about 27,000 electricity meters installed at the Sindh government's offices in the interior parts except Karachi. He said that the provisional NFC Award announced by the former President General Pervez Musharraf (Retd) clearly indicates that the federal government has no authority to deduct the amount from the share of any province.
He said the federal government had decided to clear the outstanding dues of Wapda, Pepco, Hesco and Kapco to overcome power load shedding throughout the country. For this, the centre has warned the provincial government to clear dues or it would deduct the amount at source, which is against the rules and regulations, he viewed.
The official said that the new chartered accountant would take up the inflated bills issue with the federal government and higher authorities of the Wapda to reach a solution. He said that the provincial government has reservations over the electricity bills and it had already conveyed the grievances to the federal government.