PTI’s November protest caused over Rs151m toll revenue loss, NA told

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Communications Thursday told the National Assembly that the state kitty faced a loss of Rs151.5 million in toll revenue due to the closure of motorways (M-2, M-3, M-4 and M-5) during the PTI’s protest on 24-26 November.

In a written reply to a question of Khurram Shahzad Virk, the Ministry of Communication told the House that the toll revenue collected during the preceding week from M-3, M-4 & M-5 was Rs353.6 million; however, no revenue data was available for M-2 being on BOT Concession.

Giving the reason for closure of motorways (M-2, M-3, M-4 and M-5) during the PTI’s protest, it was stated that M-2, M-3, M-4 and M-5 were closed due to the law and order situation to ensure safety and security of road users which was disseminated through National Highways and Motorway Police’s official social media handles for awareness of the general public.

In a written reply to a question, the Ministry of Communication also annexed the general notice of spokesman of NHA with regard to closure of motorways stating that confirmed reports were received regarding the illegal protest on November 24. The angry protesters had planned to disrupt the law and order situation and damage private and public properties.

The notice stated that there were reports that the protesters were armed with sticks and protection of life and property of the people was the state responsibility.

Motorways were closed at various places to avoid any untoward situation and to protect the lives and property of the public. It stated that protection of life and property of the people will be ensured in all cases. “Those who take the law into their hands will be severely grieved,” the notice annexed with the reply stated.

In a written reply to a question of Sehar Kamran, the Power Division told the National Assembly that the total circular debt at the end of November 2024 stood at Rs2,381 billion.

The CD flow from Jul-24 to Nov-24 stood at negative Rs12 billion (favorable), compared to Rs368 billion during the same period last year and this represented an improvement of Rs380 billion from last year.

The circular debt flow was limited to Rs150 billon in the last 4 years (Average Rs37.5bn/year) versus Rs1,580bn accumulation in preceding 4 years (Average Rs395 bn/year).

In the long term, the government is working on ultimate solution i.e., privatization of Discos since the inefficiencies attributed to them is a major contributor of circular debt.

The government is committed to curbing the Discos inefficiencies through technological interventions (smart metering, transformer metering, etc.), enforcement (forces deployment, tehsildars and DISCO support units) and Discos’ privatization/outsourcing.

The House was further told that the government was continuously pursuing enduring sectoral reforms in the generation, transmission and distribution segments focusing on corrective measures for diversified, resilient, self-sufficient, sustainable and affordable power sector.