Punjab University administration lodged a strong protest and demanded an apology from LESCO for adding the institution’s name to the defaulter list on Saturday. According to the details, the Punjab University spokesperson demanded an apology from LESCO authorities for declaring the university as the defaulter of the power provider utility. The spokesperson stated that the Punjab University administration has paid all the dues, including the recent bill, of LESCO on time, despite that the LESCO officials tried to damage the reputation of the institute by adding the name of Punjab University to the LESCO’s defaulter list.

The University administration strongly condemned the baseless allegation, demanded an apology from the LESCO authorities, and raised concerns over the employees of LESCO. The spokesperson further demanded immediate action against the individuals responsible in this regard. It is pertinent to mention here that, Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) on Friday released the list of the government institutions grappling with outstanding dues owed to power provider utility.

According to the list, Pakistan International Airline (PIA) Lahore has topped the list with a default of more than Rs230 million, followed by the Chairman Municipal Committee Kasur with Rs170 million, Chairman Municipal Committee Street Light, Kasur with more than Rs150 million. As per the LESCO spokesperson, the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) and the office of the MS services hospital defaulted over Rs130 million each, while the Senior Mechanical Engineer WASA and Tehsil Municipal Officer (TMO) of Data Ganj Bakhsh Town, Lahore owes more than Rs110 million each, and the Director of Operation North, Lahore Development Authority (LDA) owes over Rs100 million to LESCO.

As per the list, the DHQ Kasur, WASA Sewage Pumping Station Navan Kot, Lahore Mayo Hospital’s eye ward, TMO Dataganj Bakhsh Town Main Bazar Noori Building, are grappling with outstanding dues owed Rs70 million to LESCO. However, TMO Samanabad, Lahore District Jail, and Panjab University New Campus also owe LESCO more than Rs 60 million.

 Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)