After delay of more than one year and defying DHA, the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) has sprung in action to impose sewage charges on all private housing societies for using its drains (sewer lines) to discharge their sewage water. It is first time that WASA will collect sewage tax creating a new tariff
Sewage charges has been levied on DHA, Model Town, Green Town, Lahore Cantonment Board, Walton Cantonment Board and more then 200 housing societies in LDA controlled area and more than 100 housing societies in CDGL’s controlled area. Amongst the private housing schemes, only DHA has opposed the levy. The decision to put in force the sewage charges was taken in LDA’s general body meeting held in April, 2010 allowing WASA to get sewage charges from all private housing schemes. Since the decision was taken, WASA and DHA were at loggerheads on the issue of sewage charges.
DHA questions WASA authority: Having refused to pay a single penny for sewage changes, DHA officials said that WASA had no authority to impose the charges. He said that DHA had born out all expenses to lay down entire network of drains and sewage in the area. “DHA uses Hadiyara Drain, a property of the irrigation department instead of WASA to dispose of sewage water,” he said, “hence, how can WASA claim to levy sewage charges on DHA.”
WASA official rebuffed DHA’s stance asserting that DHA had been using Hadiyara Drain and Sattukatla Drain for the prompt discharge of its sewage water. WASA director (Planning and Development) Iqtidar Shah said that the Hadiyara and Sattukatla drain that belonged to WASA had been under DHA’s use for a long time. “We provided free service to it but now shall take sewage charges at any cost,” he added. Model Town Cooperative Society (MTCS) President Col ( Retd) Tahir Hussain Kardar said that MTCS would pay the charges if a notification issued to do so. He said, “we had been using Sattukatla drain of WASA and would act as per law.”
Notification to execute: As per data available to Pakistan Today, WASA DMD (Finance, Administration and Revenue) Abdul Hameed Chaudhary has issued the notification under office order No DMD (FA & R) / 3349-56. WASA has also constituted a Special Cell headed by Deputy Director (FA & R) Qasir Ali Sheikh for the execution of the entire process.
According to notification, Special Cell comprising four officials will conduct a comprehensive survey to quantify the exact number of tubewells installed in all the private housing societies. The cell will gauge Tubewells’ capacity and also count pumps installed for discharge of sewage water. It will also identify all the buildings commercialized by LDA to take commercial sewage charges from them.
WASA will impose charges as per capacity of the tubewells for the administration or owners of the housing schemes. The tubewells having capacity of one cusec will pay Rs. 50000 per month and two cusec tubewell will pay Rs. 0.1 million per month. Data revealed that as per rough estimates there are more than 600 tubewells only in housing societies of DHA, Model Town, cantonments, WAPDA and Railways.
“WASA is expected to earn Rs. 50 million per month. It is one year late in imposing the sewage charges. Had it levied last year, it could have collected Rs. 500 million in one year that definitely helped WASA to mitigate its budgetary deficit reaching Rs. 2. 5 billion,” WAS official said.
WASA drains structure: WASA has 14 main drains which are 85.36km long that include Hudiara Drain, Choota Ravi Drain, Cantonment Drain, Sattu Katla Drain, Iqbal Town Drain, Shahdara & Farukkahabad Drain, College Road & Garden Town drain, Birdwood Drain, central drain, city drain, Saddiqpura Drain, Railway Drain, Gulberg Drain, Shalamar Drain.
The drainage and water supply system was handed over to Lahore Improvement Trust (LIT), established in 1967. The LIT constructed drains and laid sewers in Gulberg, Samnabad, Shadbagh and some other areas of the City. They maintained that with the creation of WASA under LDA Act 1975, the system was handed over to WASA except Township and Green Town localities that were controlled by the Housing and Physical Planning Department until 1993.
It is time DHA and other housing societies be subject to regulation, instead of just expanding and over burdening existing infra structure, without contributing to their maintenance and construction. DHA earns billions from civilian residents, to whom these plots have been sold. In Lahore this society has expanded without taking into consideration, whether infrastructure exists for roads leading into or out of it to the city. Had it not been for Ring Road, the already jampacked traffic on existing roads would have become a catarastrophic logjam for residents.
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