KMC demolishes KE’s installations in apparent act of revenge

As the K-Electric (KE) has discontinued power supply to the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) due to non-payment of outstanding bills, the two organisations are at loggerheads as the latter, apparently in an act of revenge, destroyed the power utility’s illegal structures in different areas of the city on Saturday.

Soon after power to the KMC’s old building on MA Jinnah Road was discontinued on Friday, the corporation dismantled walls and the gate of a KE office on Elender Road opposite Shaheen Complex.

Commenting on the demolition of the office, KMC Anti-Encroachment Director Muhammad Musarrat said the KE had illegally occupied the road.

He added that the power utility had encroached upon various footpaths and alleys in the city by building illegal rooms.

In other operations against the KE on Saturday, the KMC anti-encroachment department removed the power utility’s sub-stations and rooms from footpaths near Makki Masjid in the Garden area and Noorani Kabab House on Shahrah-e-Quaideen.

Musarrat, however, denied that the KMC demolished the KE’s rooms to take revenge for its power disconnection. He said the anti-encroachment drive was being carried out on the orders of the Supreme Court.

When asked why the operation against KE’s installations was carried out soon after the power utility’s action against the KMC, he replied that the power utility and some other organisations had already been served with notices 15 days ago to remove their illegal structures.

On Monday, he said, there would be another massive operation against the KE’s offices and various sub-stations of the traffic police that had been constructed on footpaths.

“The KE has encroached upon the KMC’s lands and footpaths by installing its sub-stations and electric poles,” he said.

Meanwhile, the KE strongly condemned the damage to its property by the corporation following the disconnection of the KMC's multiple power connections on account of non-payment of monthly electricity bills since April 2019.

“It is pertinent to note that the municipal body owes Rs4.11 billion to the power utility and the honourable court had directed KMC to start paying monthly electricity bills from April 2019 onwards,” read a statement issued by the power utility. The statement further read that the KE had served several notices to the KMC for the payment of monthly electricity bills before disconnecting the power supply but the corporation carried out an operation against some of the KE’s offices and infrastructure in an abrupt manner.

The KE claims that various federal and provincial public sector entities are its defaulters due to which its outstanding receivables have ballooned to Rs172.3 billion. Among the defaulters is also the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) which owes it Rs32.07 billion, the power utility alleges.

The KE asked the relevant authorities to pay their outstanding dues as per the court orders as soon as possible and settle any matters of land regularisation in an amicable manner.

Mayor’s version

Karachi Mayor Wasim Akhtar said the KE was misleading the public about the outstanding dues of the KMC. The finance department of the KMC, after reconciliation with the KE authorities, brought down the corporation’s dues and now the KMC was liable to pay Rs2.5 billion for 274 connections, he said.

The mayor clarified that when he informed the court during a hearing that the KMC would not be able to pay the KE’s outstanding bills due to its financial crunch, the court ordered the Sindh government to pay for the corporation’s outstanding dues.

Akhtar added that the KMC had also asked its 22,000 pensioners not to go to banks for their pensions as the Sindh government had not released funds to the KMC despite the directives of the SC, and their power supply had also been cut, rendering them unable to perform operations at their office. “The pension will be transferred in their [pensioners] accounts after the restoration of electricity in the head office,” he said.

The pension amount for the month of July, according to Akhtar, had been arranged somehow by the corporation but as the Sindh government did not pay the dues of the K-Electric on time, the power utility disconnected the power supply to the KMC on Friday, due to which all the official affairs of the corporation had been affected and the amount of pension could not be transferred to the banks.