In a meeting presided by the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Monday which was also attended by officials of the Water and Power Ministry, he issued instructions for the immediate release of Rs104b to the Finance Ministry on account of subsidy to bring down the circular debt of Rs 401b.
The PM was briefed by the officials of the Water and Power Ministry in respect to the circular debt issue. The officials told the PM that Pakistan State Oil (PSO) was owed Rs150b for fuel supply to the power sector, Independent Power Producers (IPPs) Rs123b for electricity supply and Rs30b to Wapda. The situation for government owned distribution companies was abysmal, as many of them were owed for provision of power supply to consumers to the tune of Rs 537b. Â The blame for the rising circular debt was put on the Finance Ministry who had only released Rs10b from a total of Rs104b on account of subsidy.
The officials added that all provinces have been clearing their bills on a regular basis and Punjab owed Rs4b, Sindh Rs6b, Balochistan Rs3b and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Rs4b.
