The duration of the Punjab government’s subsidy on the water supply to citizens has been limited to five months instead of five years, reported 24News HD TV.

All water and sanitation agencies in Punjab, including Lahore, will now get a subsidy from the government for only 5 months.

The Punjab government had tasked Water and Sanitation Agencies (WASA) across Punjab, including Lahore, to come up with a new business plan to cover their deficit.

After full preparation of the new business plan, WASA officials suggested a 30% increase in water charges across Punjab but the Cabinet rejected it.

On the other hand, the Punjab Housing Department (PHD) requested the government not to increase water charges. PHD suggested that the government should provide a subsidy of Rs18 billion for 5 years to eliminate the deficit.

But the Punjab government has approved the subsidy for only five months keeping in view the business plan.

According to the officials of the housing department, the government subsidy for water has now been fixed for five months instead of five years.

This is because the government had decided not to impose additional water charges on the citizens, which is creating an additional burden on all WASAs and the government has to give reasons to remove the extra burden.

Sources said that in the cabinet meeting, the Punjab government has given the powers to the mayors to increase the water tariff under the new local government system, and the mayors elected under the new local government system will be responsible for the business plan of WASAs.

The mayor will also use his discretion to increase the water charges.