New water regulatory authority on the cards

LAHORE:To regulate and monitor issues pertaining to underground and drinking water, Punjab government has decided to establish a water and sewerage authority at provincial level.

All five Wasa (agencies) - Lahore, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala and Multan - will also be converted into independent authorities while a separate regulatory authority will also be established under the Punjab Water and Sewerage Authorities and Regulatory Authority Act 2019.

Syed Zahid Aziz, Wasa Managing Director, said that it is expected that the draft law will go a long way for development, operation and maintenance of water supply and sewerage systems and sustainable groundwater and water resource management in Punjab. He said the government’s move will bring revolutionary changes in water sector.

As per the draft law, the Draft Act establishes and constitutes a Provincial Water and Sewerage Regulatory Authority which in essence will be a policymaking regulator for Water and Sewerage Sector. Some of the other important functions of the Regulatory Authority include developing, proposing and monitoring key performance indicators for all the Water and Sewerage Authorities, coordination amongst authorities and determination of tariffs, rates and charges, etc.

“For the purposes of prosecution of offences under the Draft Act, a tribunal with at least one judicial and technical member has been envisaged,” it said, adding the existing Water and Sanitation Agencies have been reorganised and converted into Water and Sewerage Authorities having areas as already assigned to them. It added that the provincial government has been empowered to establish new authorities for such areas within the province of Punjab as it may deem appropriate.

The draft further said that the general governance of the authorities has been conferred upon a board which includes members from various departments of the provincial government. The Chief Executive Officer of an authority shall be the Director General of the Authority which shall be appointed by the Provincial government, it concluded.