Daily Times

A legislative body of the Upper House on Friday took serious notice of the word “unconstitutional” used for the AGN Kazi formula related to payment of royalty on account of electricity generation.

The term was used in Senate Standing Committee on Water Resources, which met on Friday in Parliament House with Senator Shamim Afridi in the chair. Members of the committee said that the matter must be probed in detail as how it had been termed as “unconstitutional”. The committee termed it is an insult to parliament. It was decided that no further action on this agenda item be taken unless this matter was cleared.

Senator Ahmed Khan, Senator Hasil Khan Bizenjo, Senator Muhammad Usman Khan Kakar, Senator Sana Jamali, Senator Syed Muhammad Sabir Shah and senior officers of the Ministry of Water Resources along with all official concerned attended the meeting. Senator Mushtaq Ahmed was a special invitee.

While discussing the feasibility of water supply from Indus River (Chasma or DI Khan point) to Zhob division in Balochistan, the committee was informed that currently no feasibility study was being carried out. The committee asserted that WAPDA would require a detailed feasibility report, without which it was impossible to move ahead. The ministry assured the committee that a feasibility study would be conducted after obtaining permission from the Balochistan government. The committee issued directions to the government of Balochistan to facilitate the process. Senator Shamim Afridi was of the opinion that the trend of dividing projects into phases must be curbed, since this was the main cause of delay. The project must be given priority as a whole, he added.

While being briefed about the present status of the Kachi Canal project, the committee was informed that the PC-1 was with the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) and the project could not move ahead without approval. The PC-1 of the remaining project has already been submitted to the Planning Division. The committee recommended that it was imperative that representatives of WAPDA, government of Balochistan and the Planning Division be present to fix responsibility and ascertain the glitches in the project.