Clean drinking water project: National Assembly body asks government to expedite implementation

National Assembly's Standing Committee on Government Assurances while taking serious notice of the absence of Federal Minister for Water and Power Raja Pervez Asharaf from the committee's meeting, has deferred the agenda item regarding Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) and asked the minister to ensure his presence in next time.
The committee, which met here on Tuesday with MNA Mahmood Hayat Khan in the chair, regretted the minister's absence without informing about his inability to attend the meeting as it was the first meeting after the briefing of Parliamentary Affairs Ministry. The committee discussed the assurance given by Lal Muhammad Khan, Minister for Special Initiative regarding installation of water filtration plants in union councils Summi and Gadiji, District Khairpur and necessitated ministry of special initiatives to implement the project for clean drinking water throughout the country immediately.
Khan said that the government is bound to install the filtration plants at designated places mentioned in the PC-I approved by development institutions of the country. Any change of place for installation of plant, he added, may augment the cost of the project. The ministry is working hard to clear the impediments hindering implementation of the project which has been designed only for the benefit and betterment of the poor people, he added.
Mahmood Hayat Khan expressed his concern over the sluggish attitude of provincial governments regarding the accomplishment of the project. "Why the provincial governments are not taking this project seriously while funds have already been released for the project", he questioned.
MNA Chaudhry Abdul Ghafoor said access to clean and portable drinking water is the right of every citizen and the special initiatives' ministry should take all necessary measures to ensure availability of water to masses. He suggested that the dichotomy of power to implement this much sought after project between provincial and federal governments should immediately be ended in the greater public interest.