Many people can’t afford paying power bills: Maryam

LAHORE: Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif, in her speech at the inauguration ceremony of the Punjab Socio-Economic Registry (PSER) Project on Thursday, said it was sad that many of the 13 crore residents cannot afford paying their electricity bills.

She said electricity bills are more than the monthly income of many people. “We are, therefore, bringing solar project for 45 lakh consumers in Punjab, which will reduce their electricity bills by half. I want to have authentic data so that only rightful ones could benefit from any of the government initiatives.”

She added: “Punjab has a population of 13 crores, but it is not known how many people fall into which socio-economic category.” The chief minister said: “More than 5,000 registration centres have been set up across Punjab. By registering with the Socio-Economic Registry, people will be entitled to social protection programs of the government. People can register themselves on the portal even sitting at their homes. They can also contact Punjab Socio-Economic Registry Helpline 0800-02345.”

Highlighting the importance of credible data, the chief minister said: “While monitoring the delivery of Ramazan Relief Package to the people of Punjab at their doorsteps, we found that the undeserving people also got package because we had no credible data.” The chief minister said authentic crime data for each district is being compiled.