Rawalpindi: A Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) delegation is set to visit Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar to appeal for a bailout package, a news source reported. The agency’s request was previously turned down by the provincial government.
WASA has been in the grip of a financial crunch ever since the provincial government decided not to provide a monthly subsidy to the civic body. The funds received under the expected agreement will be used to make water available during the summer months.
The WASA delegation will be led by Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) Chairman Arif Abbasi. The team will request a bailout package of Rs800 million.
The agency has been facing problems with management of salaries, payment of outstanding amounts to contractors, and arrangements for avoiding water shortages in the summers, according to Abbasi. He added that more than PKR 100 million in payments are pending, and contractors have stopped working on new water supply projects.
