City Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal has expressed displeasure on the poor working of Chief Revenue Officer and all directors of Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB). According to a press release issued on Tuesday, taking strict notice of the failure in recovery of bills by officers of revenue department Kamal said that the board could not be run under these circumstances as it would mean cheating with citizens.
Addressing a meeting of the revenue department of KW&SB on Tuesday, Nazim Karachi said that the board under present tariff supplies water amounting to Rs 24 billion to consumers while it collects only 3 billion rupees against these bills.
The meeting was attended by City Nazim's special representatives to KWSB Imamuddin Shehzad, Muhammad Moin Khan, Chief Engineers, Chief Revenue Officer Mehmood Qadir and all directors of revenue department. The Chief Revenue Officer on this occasion informed that the board has at present 985,199 retail and 5432 bulk consumers in its network and it collects Rs 3l70 million as revenue per annum.
Nazim Karachi Syed Mustafa Kamal while expressing annoyance on this said that he was given the same figures in tax collection when he assumed charge of water board three years ago.
He said that despite of the fact that Haq Parast leadership has supplied water to even those areas of Karachi which were previously deprived of this basic facility, the revenue department had never bothered to conduct a survey of these areas to add new consumers in its list. Nazim Karachi said that the board is at present supplies 450 million-gallon water to domestic consumers and 100 million gallon to commercial consumers. Under existing tariff it should mean Rs 24 billion income per annum but the revenue officers and staff of KWSB had never paid any attention on this.
City Nazim also turned down suggestion of revenue department for increase in tariff, recovery of dues from bulk supply consumers and imposition of water tax on mosques, welfare organisations and government buildings. He said that the revenue department did not fulfil its duties and it would be better to sack all these officials and replace them with new workers from outside.-PR