Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The Planning Commission on Thursday said that only Rs 0.4 billion out a total of Rs 2.37 billion had been spent on the construction of Naulong Dam in Baluchistan.

This was revealed during a meeting of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), chaired by Syed Khurshid Ahmed Shah.

Parliamentarians Syed Naveed Qamar, Sheikh Rohail Asghar, Dr. Azra Pecheeho, Azam Swati, Shafqat Mehmood, Arif Alvi, Raja Javed Ikhlas and Saeed Ahmed Mainas also attended the meeting.

The Planning additional secretary told the committee that an amount of Rs 2.37 billion had been released to WAPDA. “Its official kept the amount for four years. They only spent Rs 0.4 billion was spent, while the remaining was remitted to a private bank,” the official said.

When asked by the committee as to whether the amount was submitted in current account or saving account, the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) chairman refused to respond, saying that he had no knowledge about the type of account where the amount was remitted.

He, however, said that most of the amount of WAPDA was remitted to the National Bank of Pakistan.

The committee expressed concern and asked the officials about why the dam project had not been initiated. “Who gave the permission to remit the amount through a private bank?” the members said. Earlier, Water Resources Secretary Khwaja Shumail and the WAPDA Chairman Gen (r) Muzammil, along with other officials, had briefed the committee about Naulong Dam.

The committee was informed that Naulang Dam was to be constructed in Jhal Magsi district of Baluchistan. “The PC-I of the project was prepared with estimation of Rs 11.6 billion in 2009. In June 2010, the revised PC-I with estimated cost of Rs 31.9 billion was tabled before the ECNEC Committee for approval,” officials said.

They said that ECNEC in 2012 approved PC-I at the cost of Rs 18 billion. The meeting was informed that provision of security to project and land acquisition was responsibility of provincial government of Baluchistan. “WAPDA has done its part and is waiting for the provincial government’s response,” the officials said. Additional Chief Secretary Baluchistan Qamar Masood expressed concern over the project, saying that Baluchistan could not afford interest valuing Rs 3.1 billion on the loan provided by Asian Development Bank (ADB) for the project.

However, he expressed willingness to execute the project on the condition that the federal government would pay the interest. PAC summoned former WAPDA chairman at the next meeting over the issue.

Published in Daily Times, November 3^rd 2017.