Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The cost of an important and significant project of Chirah Dam to mitigate the increasing need of water in the capital city has been increased around three times higher than its actual price, but the project is still only in the papers since 2009.

The fact was endorsed by the officials of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) at a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on the Cabinet Secretariat on Tuesday while responding to an agenda item which was referred to the committee by the Upper House of the Parliament based on a question asked by Senator Tahir Hussain Mashadi in this regard.

In the beginning of the committee’s proceedings, the members expressed their extreme displeasure over the absence of the Chairman CDA and the Mayor of Islamabad, Shaikh Ansar Aziz.

The Member Planning and Design of the civic body Asad Mehboob Kiani, has informed the committee that the Chairman CDA was in the Prime Minister’s Office to attend an urgent meeting and he would represent the Authority’s viewpoint, but senators insisted to call the mayor in person before the committee otherwise they sought a privilege motion against him in the Senate.

However, later on the Mayor of Islamabad joined the committee proceedings and informed the committee that the civic body had nothing to do with the execution of the Chirah Dam project as it would be carried out by the Government of Punjab through the Small Dams Organisation and Water and Sanitation Authority (WASA) Rawalpindi.

The PC-1 of the project was approved in 2009 at a cost amounting to Rs.5307.220 million and its completion period was four years, but the project could not be initiated and a revised PC-I amounting to Rs.17824.475 million was submitted by the Small Dam Organization for review and clearance, the CDA officials informed the committee.

Furthermore, the dam is to be constructed on Soan River in the ICT jurisdiction near Chirah Village, 25 kilometre northeast of Rawalpindi and east of Rawalpindi and Lethrar Road.

When questioned by Senator Mashadi, why this project had been delayed and who was the responsible of increase in the cost of this project, the Member Planning replied that it could be answered by the Punjab Government which was the executing agency of the project however he accepted that the CDA had paid 851 million rupees for land acquisition as a part of its share in the project.

Senator Saifullah Magsi told the Member Planning: “You are equally responsible as the civic body has to pay fifty per cent cost of this project.” He questioned further: “Why did you not question the Punjab Government over the delay when you were paying for this project.”

The Member Planning, Asad Mehboob Kiani, while replying said: “Mr. Aftab Ahmed Shaikh, who was then the minister in charge of the civic body had written a letter to the Chief Minister of Punjab in May 2015 and taken up the matter with him.”

He informed further that the revised PC-I was not finalised yet, as the technical and finical viability of said project, was being assessed. He suggested that the representatives of the Punjab Government should be called at the next meeting.

The chairman of the committee, Senator Talha Mehmood, has directed to call the representatives of the Punjab Irrigation Department and Small Dams organisation at the next meeting.