LAHORE The owners of 80 photocopy machines on the premises of lower courts are violating the power tariffs, hence causing loss to national exchequer, TheNation has learnt. Photocopiers did not like to comment on the issue whether they are running their business with the permission of any authority or had set up their machines at their own. On the other hand, the Lahore Electricity Supply Company officials revealed that there is vast difference regarding the charges of electricity units in connection with the new allotted 'A2-B electricity connection to government departments and 'A2 (commercial connection) to the commercial consumers as well as electricity users. They said Lesco was charging around Rs 12 to the any connection to the government department against the A2-B and about Rs 18 from the commercial connection (A2). Lower court employees as well as Lahore Bar Association president and other representatives of the body are aware of the matter but so far no concrete action has been taken against such photocopiers, who are continuously violating the electricity tariffs. Some employees of the lowers courts also alleged that it was essential to investigate that all the owners of the machines are paying the electricity bills or violating the facility of A2-B, which were given by Lesco only for courts. When contacted Lahore Bar Association president Shahzad Hassan Sheikh said that he had already served notices to all the photocopy owners with the deadline of May 30. He said that the owners through notices have been warned of getting commercial electricity connections 'A2 and after the deadline, the machines using A2-B connection would be disconnected. Sheikh said that he was also a member of the load management committee and therefore he had already launched an operation with other LBA representatives to dislodge such machines from the district courts including civil courts. He admitted that business of such electricity tariff violators is going on in Cantt Court, Model Town and civil courts and to some extent in premises of district and sessions court. National accountability courts helping staff also revealed that there were around three photocopy machines in the court premises which were lying out of order. They said important courts like anti-terrorism courts must also be provided with the new photocopy machines. A senior official of MIT section set in Lahore High Court had also revealed a plan one month ago that soon a comprehensive plan would be launched in lower courts according to which lower court employees would be made bound to provide the copies of the case record to the litigants against the fixation of the charges in all courts of Punjab. He said such system would help in curbing corruption allegedly going in lower court employees in the name of providing copies of the case record to the litigants, and remove the illegal business of photocopies in the court premises.