Drive against power theft: 19,415 arrested, Rs14bn recovered, PM told

ISLAMABAD: The caretaker government has maintained that it recovered Rs14 billion on account of electricity theft since the beginning of the campaign till September 30, 2023.

Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, was informed about this during a meeting presided over by him on Wednesday to review progress made so far against electricity theft in the country.

In the meeting, Kakar was told that 19,415 electricity thieves have been arrested in the campaign since the start of the drive and 39,836 FIRs have been registered against electricity theft. The meeting was further informed that 189 government officials involved in electricity theft have been suspended.

Power theft campaign: hundreds arrested, millions of rupees recovered

The review meeting was informed that the anti-power theft campaign was most successful in Mardan, where the rate of power theft decreased from 43 percent to 13 percent.

The meeting was informed that since the beginning of the campaign till September 30, collections of Rs14 billion have been made.

The concerned officials also informed Kakar about the problems encountered during the campaign, upon which, the concerned authorities were directed to speed up efforts to prevent electricity theft in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Quetta, and Sindh.

He also directed to speed up the process of transition of agricultural tube wells to solar energy. Kakar also directed the concerned authorities to submit a comprehensive report regarding resistance to the campaign to stop electricity theft and other issues in Balochistan.

He added that it is the government’s responsibility to create a stable system for the next democratic government through measures like the campaign to stop electricity theft.

The meeting was attended by the caretaker interior minister, caretaker energy minister, caretaker minister for information and broadcasting, provincial chief secretaries, and relevant federal secretaries.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023