KARACHI: A committee on orders of Water Commission would initiate an inquiry into the deficient malfunctioning of Karachi Water and Sewerage Board clean drinking water supply through hydrants. Jamal Mustafa Syed, Secretary Irrigation and Chairman Task Force for Ensuring Provision of Clean Drinking Water vide letter 4(10)SO(IRC)/2017, July 3rd, 2017 has directed the inquiry committee to probe the issues related to water hydrants. Zahid Hussain Shaikh, Superintending Engineer, Small Dams Organisation Hyderabad Irrigation Department, Sindh and Mansoor Ahmed Memon, Superintending Engineer, Project Director Left Bank Outfall Drainage Project Hyderabad, Irrigation Department Sindh have been named members on the committee. The inquiry committee would submit findings on term of references and is expected to submit report within ten days after the start of proceedings positively. Under committee’s domain, is to ascertain the number of water hydrants with KWSB, policy for fixation commercial rates and time of formulation under implementation, mechanism fixing rates of water tankers, rules and legal framework, electricity charges recovered through billing, water hydrants metering, KWSB billing system for constructors whether it is computerised or manually generated and collection of details of billing from all hydrants during the last five years. The committee would also inquire into charge hydrant cell ‘Adjust’ monthly bills being issued on basis of flow meter reading besides rules permit to contractors and under what authority does they do the job. The matters pertaining to amount of adjustments made during last five years in all hydrants, total amount of arrears on contractors, criteria for selecting hydrant contractors, procedure to award contract and whether proper procedure had been followed in last five years would also come under inquiry. The committee would also inquire about the last tender invited in awarding contract of hydrants, procedure and the legal status of these contracts. Moreover, issues of contractors defaulted in last five years, actions against them for recovering dues and in case of contract without legal authority, waiving of arrears and its legal justification besides rules and policy regulating functioning operation of water hydrants and recommendations on water tariff rationalisation including consolidated recommendation for better functioning and operation of water hydrants would also come during inquiry. In the light of a letter LG/SO-VII)/4-2/KWSB/2017, January 18th, 2017, issued by Secretary Local Government Sindh to Managing Director, KWSB, there has been reported huge irregularities in revenue collection from KWSB on water hydrants and viz a viz. On these established facts, inquiry has been ordered besides complaint lodged on January 11, 2017 from Mohsin Raza, General Secretary Peoples Labour Union KWSB to Minister Local Government Department Sindh on the subject matter has also been considered to examine the KWSB conduct on water hydrants. It is pertinent to mention here that KWSB stopped its computerised billing without any valid or legal reason, new consumer numbers were issued to consumers without any lawful authority, arrears were waived to the consumers without proper justification, billing pattern has been changed in 2009 on at least with three intervals, arrears, amounting to Rs 500 million were not reflected in the bills. The bills generated for National Logistic Cell did not include electricity charges, performance of the meter division has been highly questionable and dubious in their acts, most of the installed meters remained non-functional intentionally and purposefully and same meter division team had been advocating outsourcing of the billing system just to cover up their misdeeds, incompetence and corruption. During the proceedings of a case, secretary LGD, Sindh admitted in the Sindh High Court that bogus bills had been generated, but KWSB did not initiate any inquiry against concerned officials. It is on record that during the proceedings of Public Accounts Committee in 2013, MD, KWSB presented a list of defaulters of KWSB dues which include, DG Rangers, CM House, Governor House, ASF, Military personals, judges, politicians, member National and Sindh Assembly and ministers of Sindh government who owed arrears amounting to Rs 500 million and they had not been reflected in bills. The bills generated for National Logistic Cell did not include electricity charges. The performance of Meter Division remained highly questionable and on other hand KWSB had not made any concerted efforts to recover dues from hydrant contractors and instead giving them relief on account of waiving arrears from time to time. Published in Daily Times, July 8th , 2017.