One of the recurring themes that has emerged from hearings before parliamentary committees is the rush by power companies to complete essential paperwork, namely the transfer of properties in their use into their name. First, the Senate Committee on Privatization was told on Wednesday that the five distribution companies were getting a number of properties transferred into their name in anticipation of privatization. Then the very next day, the National Assembly Economic Affairs Committee was told that the National Transmission and Dispatch Company’s properties had to be transferred to its successor companies, the Independent System Market Operator, the National Grid Company of Pakistan, and the Energy Infrastructure and Development Management Company, after it was unbundled.
The government stands revealed as displaying a casualness that is almost frightening. The properties to be transferred to the DISCOs come from both federal and provincial governments, and include land belonging to various departments. It probably was counted as showing initiative and a can-do spirit when these lands were transferred to WAPDA, but the failure to transfer the land on paper has created difficulties in privatization. A cost arrangement between two government departments will not persist when one is privatized. The Privatization Commission is now busy making sure that the properties are formally transferred, and that if there is any litigation going on, it is settled. Obviously, buyers would include any property disputes, or use of land not backed by documentation, in their evaluations. The same is happening to the NTDC successors, though the Committee was told this by a World Bank representative, because the necessary amendments must be made in the various contracts, so that work on the World Bank’s power transmission project can go ahead. It should not be forgotten that the unbundled NTDC companies are expected, at some time in the indeterminate future to go on the auction block too.
In fact, the straightening of the land revenue record for government properties should be done for all departments, whether or not they are to be privatized. The department responsible for this is one of the oldest of the government’s departments, but if the government itself is so casual about keeping itself going according to the book, how can it expect the citizen to obey its laws and regulations. Such irregularities do not make people rush out of the house and run a red light, but they have an effect ultimately.
