ISLAMABAD : Former President of the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), Dr. Shahid Rasheed Butt, said on Monday that soaring energy costs are hurting the poor and middle class while benefiting the powerful and ruthless elite class.
He said that rising energy costs are forcing industrialists to close their mills, while the underprivileged and the middle class are struggling to survive.
Shahid Rasheed Butt said in a statement today that many people whose income is insufficient to cover their electricity bills are making ends meet by selling jewellery and household items.
He stated that political interests are being prioritised over the people, while the masses are being robbed mercilessly.
The business leader said that increasing installed capacity beyond requirements, ignoring the bidding process, and giving profit determined in dollars is not a mistake, but deliberate attempts aimed at amassing billions have made the country bankrupt and the people mentally ill.
He emphasized that in this contest, we cannot ignore the negative character of politicians and Nepra’s failure to safeguard the interests of the masses.
According to Shahid Rashid Butt, the responsible institution should bear the burden of recovering the losses from stolen electricity and unpaid bills.
He noted that influential individuals receive free or extremely cheap electricity, forcing the masses to foot the bill, which is unjustified.
He said that if the government stops collecting 24.5% of income and sales tax during summer electricity bills, then the consumer’s bills will decrease by 24.5%. At the same time, the government’s revenue will decline by Rs 50 billion.
A reduction in PSDP, which is 1150 billion rupees, easily covers the loss of Rs 50 billion if authorities desire so, he said.
He pointed out that to appease the assembly members, the development spending from the previous year, which was seven hundred and five billion rupees, has now increased to eleven hundred and fifty billion rupees.
It’s not a big deal to subtract fifty billion rupees from the Rs 1150 billion budget, but it’s only possible if the goal is to provide some relief to the people.
The government’s income will decrease by 300 billion rupees if it abolishes taxes on electricity bills for the entire year and reduces the development budget to make up for the losses.
Even if the development budget is reduced to meet the losses, it will be 150 billion rupees more than last year’s development budget, which will be enough to keep the legislators pleased.
Such a move will not only provide relief to the masses but also improve production and exports.
The government charges 18 percent of the sales tax on LNG and furnace oil imports, which it uses to run its power plants. Reducing this tax will result in lower electricity bills, but only if the authorities plan to provide some relief to the suffering people.
He observed that while the cost of electricity has increased, the practice of overbilling, which aims to defraud people, needs to cease.
