ISLAMABAD – The federal government is seriously considering the option of resuming two holidays a week from April for reducing energy consumption and administrative expenditure as electricity shortfall would reach 2,000 to 3,000MW in the coming summer.
The proposal is part of the government’s efforts to facilitate the industrial and agricultural sector besides saving money under the head of office expenditure amidst severe financial crunch. The decision would help minimise a widening gap between demand and supply of electricity and overcome expected public wrath because of load shedding.
A source told Pakistan Today on Monday that the Ministry of Finance had moved a summary to the prime minister and the suggestion was expected to be considered at the previous cabinet meeting but the process of ‘political fine-tuning’ stopped the government from placing it on the agenda. He added that the new cabinet would approve the proposal as the issue was not on the agenda of the farewell cabinet meeting tomorrow (Wednesday).
The decision is likely to be in place by the end of March or from the first week of April. He said the government had previously announced a five-day working week on the proposal of the Ministry of Water and Power but now it was the Finance Ministry which made the suggestion.
New cabinet to decide two weekly holidays
