KWSC asks Pakistan Steel Mills to clear arrears of Rs11bn

The Karachi Water & Sewerage Corporation (KWSC) has asked the Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) to clear their arrears of Rs11 billion. The demand came during a meeting at the Chairman Secretariat Karsaz, where Karachi Mayor Barrister Murtaza Wahab met a PSM delegation.

The meeting discussed water supply in the residential areas of the PSM, namely Steel Town, and Phase 1, Phase 2 and Extension Phase 3 of Gulshan-e-Hadeed.

The PSM management expressed its desire to hand over its water system to the KWSC, but the KWSC demanded the handover of the PSM’s complete water system. KWSC officials present in the meeting clarified that if the PSM hands over its complete water system, including the Zero Point Steel Canal and the filter plant, to the KWSC, the water corporation would ensure water supply to the adjoining areas.

They also demanded that the PSM pay the KWSC Rs11 billion in arrears as soon as possible because the KWSC has to pay dues to its retired employees. PSM officials said they would get back to the KWSC after speaking with the PSM Board.

According to the KWSC spokesperson, until an agreement is reached, the PSM management is solely responsible for the water distribution in Gulshan-e-Hadeed’s Phase 1, Phase 2 and Distribution Network Extension Phase 3; Steel Town; and residential communities and housing societies, including industrial users.

The spokesperson explained that according to the new KWSC Act of 2023, the residential areas of the PSM do not fall under the jurisdiction of the KWSC. He clarified that the regions within the PSM’s land do not fall under the KWSC’s system in accordance with the new act, as the PSM is a constitutional body that governs those areas. The spokesperson confirmed that the KWSC maintains an uninterrupted water supply to the PSM through its bulk water supply system via the Karachi Gujjo Canal.