KMC electricity bill: SC seeks workable solution for payment

Supreme Court (SC) on Monday summoned Secretaries of Local Government, Finance and Energy Departments in Sindh to appear in the court to give a workable solution about the outstanding dues on account of electricity bill of Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) owed to K-Electric (KE).
At Karachi Registry, a two-member bench of the SC consisting of Justice Maqbool Baqir and Justice Sajjad Ali Shah also showed annoyance over the KMC for using the electricity without paying the bill.
The SC bench was hearing the petition of the KMC challenging Sindh High Court (SHC)'s verdict, in which the KMC was ordered to pay its outstanding dues to KE. The bench observed that the KMC has not been paying the bill for the last several years.
Justice Sajjad Ali Shah remarked that local government departments in Karachi have even installed ACs in their washrooms and said that if they can't pay the bill, then they have no right to utilize the electricity.
The KMC counsel told the court that the funds allocated by Sindh Government are utilized for paying the salaries to its employees, at which Justice Shah stated that then why you don't shut down the KMC.
He said that the KMC has developed the habit of not paying the bill over the years when the KMC lawyer informed the court that the KMC has now been tired of making several requests to Sindh Government for releasing the funds.
"How can we pay the bill when the staff of Abbasi Shaheed Hospital was paid their salaries after four months," the KMC lawyer said. Justice Shah said that how the KE would run its operations if its dues are not cleared.
The KMC counsel opposed the suggestion of the bench that Sindh Government should directly pay the bill. "Don't issue these orders otherwise Sindh Government would deduct the amount from our head," the KMC lawyer said. The KE counsel prayed the court to issue the orders for payment of dues KMC owed to the KE. The SC bench directed Energy, Finance and Local Government Secretaries of provincial departments to appear before the court on Wednesday to present the solution regarding outstanding dues of KMC to KE.
Meanwhile, the SC bench issued notices to the federal government and Vice Chancellor University of Karachi in a petition challenging appointment of Dr Ghazala in Marine Biology Department as Director. Prof Peerzada Jamal Siddiqui challenged the appointment of Dr Ghazala in the department.
In a murder case, the SC bench approved a plea of accused Mohammad Chang for bail before arrest. In 2017, the accused was charged with murdering four persons in District Sajawal.
The court also approved the bail plea of Mokhtarkar Safdar Ali Chana against Rs20,0000 surety bond in a case pertaining to sale of government land to private persons through fake documentation.