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ISLAMABAD, Aug 20 (APP):The Senate Standing Committee on Water Resources, on Wednesday, expressed serious concerns over decades-long pending legal cases, land disputes worth trillions of rupees, and the closure of the Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Project.
The committee, which met with Shahadat Awan in the chair, reviewed compliance reports on the audit paras of WAPDA.
Senator Shahadat Awan highlighted that some of the WAPDA cases have been pending for 21 years and the authority has not paid attention to these cases for the last sixteen years.
He further pointed out that WAPDA is occupying land worth Rs. 10 billion, while cases worth over Rs. 298.48 billion are pending in the courts, primarily related to Mangla Dam lands.
The Chairman Committee also raised alarm over the illegal contract of Nai Gaj Dam worth Rs. 30 billion, which remains under investigation by NAB. “WAPDA Chairman should call an immediate meeting on all these audit cases. A report on the progress of all these cases should be presented to the committee,” Senator Awan directed.
Members of the Committee echoed similar concerns. Senator Faisal Rahman remarked that it seems that WAPDA’s legal team is not working, questioning the lack of progress on longstanding disputes.
In response, WAPDA Chairman Lt Gen (Retd) Muhammad Saeed informed the Committee, “I have been in office for only ten days, yet I have already convened three meetings to address these issues. WAPDA has many cases for which there is no record, but we are trying to reduce the backlog.”
He admitted that WAPDA’s records are not digitized*, but assured that digitization efforts were underway.
He said compensation had already been paid to the affectedees of Mangla Dam and now they are pursuing cases in court.
On the issue of NAB references, the WAPDA officials confirmed that six cases are currently under NAB’s purview, including two each of the Kachhi Canal and Nai Gaj Dam projects.
The Secretary Ministry of Water Resources said that these are NAB cases against individuals, not WAPDA.
The Chairman Committee summoned FIA and NAB officials to the next meeting, directing WAPDA and the Ministry of Water Resources to present complete details of all cases. “If any government agency has taken responsibility, then it is our job to enquire, Senator Awan emphasized.
Turning to the Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Project, members voiced concern over its closure following the collapse of the head-rise tunnel.
The Officials briefed that the project had earlier faced a tail-rise tunnel collapse, which was repaired, allowing operations for nine months before the new breakdown.
Senator Shahadat Awan, however, deferred a detailed briefing, stating, “The Prime Minister has already formed a committee to inquire into the project. We should wait for the inquiry report before further discussion.”
The Committee recommended that WAPDA’s legal team immediately coordinate with the Auditor General and the Ministry of Law to resolve audit-related cases from 2015-16, while urging that all criminal and PAC-related cases be reported in detail in the next sitting.
The meeting was attended by Senators Quratul Ain Marri, Faisal Salem Rahman, Dr Humayun Mohmand, Saeed Ahmed Hashmi and Saadia Abbasi, Chairman WAPDA Lt General (Retd) Muhammad Saeed, Secretary Ministry of Water Resources, and senior officials of relevant departments.