FAISALABAD: The Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (Fesco) and the Faisalabad Development Authority (FDA) are blaming each other for the delay in electrification of the FDA City, the housing scheme spread over hundreds of acres on Sargodha Road.

Fesco blames the FDA for not preparing the design bool< for the electrification even after eight years of the scheme launch. On the contrary, the FDA claims it has deposited required amount of Rs7.2 million for issuance of comprehensive demand notice.

An FDA official said since last six years, they had been struggling to get the comprehensive demand notice for external electrification of the FDA City and the amount was paid to Fesco in June2010. He blamed the Fesco officials for employing delaying tactics for one reason or the other. He said a couple of days back, a letter had also been sent to the Fesco chief, reminding him of the demand notice.

First reminder for issuance of the complete demand notice was sent to the Fesco chief on June 24, 2011, second was sent six days later and third was dispatched on June 7 this year, the FDA official said and added that now the Fesco head had also been approached by the FDA chief engineer through a letter sent on Oct 6.

The letter reads: `FDA applied (to) Fesco authorities to furnish a comprehensive demand notice for external electrification of FDA City housing scheme back on June 2010. For that the FDA deposited design vetting fee amounting to Rs7.2 million. All other formali-ties as required by Fesco P&D office were fulfilled by the FDA.

A comprehensive design report prepared by consultant Nespak was also submitted to Fesco office.

It is now stated with grievance that despite all these submissions, Fesco has not yet furnished complete demand notice for external electrification of FDA City Housing Scheme.

The letter further says that due to electricity issue, the housing scheme was suffering with huge Knancial setbacks and distrust of public.

Currently, only two of the six blocks-A and F-are electrified and both the blocks are on the front side of the scheme.

Maqsood Ahmed, who had purchased plot when the FDA City scheme was launched, says he has been waiting for basic facilities like electricity at the colony. It isdeplorable that instead of facilitating the masses, both the departments are wrangling on the electrification issue.

`It is also condemnable that the FDA has not yet prepared the design book which means electrification of remaining parts of the colony will take another couple of months.

Fesco Chief Engineer (planning) Sheikh Mohammad Jahangir says the delay is due to the FDA as the two meetings were arranged in a last couple of days and the authority officials said they had asked a private consultant for the design book.

`The delay is on the part of the FDA, not Fesco. Immediately after receiving the design book, the matter will be placed before the Fesco board of directors for approval.

To a query that the FDA hadsent a letter and demanded the demand notice, he said the FDA officials had been replied to and the amount of Rs7.2m was deposited for the electrification of blocks A and F. He said now the FDA would submit a complete design book which, according to their officials, was about to be completed.

FDA Deputy Director (electrical) Asim told Dawn that since June 2013 the authority had deposited Rs113m with the Fesco, including Rs7.2m for the comprehensive demand notice.

He dispelled the impression that the amount of Rs7.2m million was deposited for electrification of A and F blocks of the scheme.

He said Fesco had executed the work amounting to Rs36m only which was only for feeder 6, serving A1, A2 and F1 of the two blocks of the scheme.