PESHAWAR, April 2: The Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) and the NWFP government have accused each other of violating their recent understanding meant to ensure timely payment of monthly power charges by the province , and end the alleged practice of over-billing by Wapda staff, information gathered from different official sources revealed.

The two sides have recently traded charges accusing each other of not fulfilling the understanding whereby Wapda was required to end the alleged practice of excess billing to the provincial public sector consumers who in turn were required to ensure timely payment of the monthly charges.

As per their accord, the NWFP government was required to pay 70 per cent of the monthly electricity charges within the due date of the bills.

The remaining 30 per cent was to have been paid every month after the accounts for the relevant month are reconciled.

When contacted, Brig Tahir Saeed, chief executive of Pesco said: "During the last three months, the government has paid only Rs 200 million while it was supposed to ensure payment of 70 per cent of the total monthly charges which comes around to Rs 1 billion."

He claimed that the provincial government's departments consumed Rs 300 million to Rs 400 million worth of electricity every month, while Pesco was paid only Rs 200 million in January.

He said that the issue had recently been taken up with the NWFP chief secretary who was informed that the outstanding amount against the government departments had risen to Rs 1.3 billion.

"We are a commercial organization and cannot afford to supply free of cost electricity to anybody, Pesco is under pressure to disconnect power supply to defaulters,"said Brig Tahir Saeed.

On the other hand, officials in the provincial government dealing with Wapda, when contacted, claimed that payment of more than Rs 400 million was made to Pesco during the first six months of the current financial year, which was supposed to have been adjusted against the government's account.

They also claimed that the provincial government paid over Rs 1.9 billion to Pesco as electricity charges during the first six months of the current financial year.

They said that during the July to December period of the current financial year, Pesco sent electricity bills totalling Rs 1.5 billion to the provincial government.

"On the basis of the 70 per cent formula, we were supposed to pay Rs 1.05 billion out of the total billed amount, while we paid over Rs 1.9 billion during the six months time," said a well placed official of the provincial government.

In a recently sent official communique to the federal authorities concerned, added the official, the province had also accused Wapda of over-charging NWFP.

"Though the chief executive of Pesco and his senior staff have extended an unprecedented cooperation to the provincial government, his subordinate staff is not following his instructions viz-a-viz ending the practice of over charging," said a senior official of the provincial government.

Chief executive of Pesco said that the recently made agreement largely remained ineffective for his organization as far as outstanding amount against the government's departments was concerned.