CRBC lift-cum-gravity project shelved

The Water and Power Division and Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) have shelved Chashma Right Bank Canal (CRBC) lift-cum-gravity project, which is one of the vital projects in the pipeline for the development of agriculture sector in southern districts of NWFP, sources told Business Recorder.
The work on the project should have been started in last fiscal year as an amount of Rs 330 million was earmarked in the federal Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP). This amount was surrendered as the Water and Power Division and Wapda failed to act in accordance with the recommendations of Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC).
Generally, according to sources, Wapda pays little heed to the development projects in water and power sector being executed in the Frontier province, whose governments always opposed the construction of ''controversial'' Kalabagh dam in the past.
In fact, NWFP is not the only province which opposes Kalabagh dam. Sindh has also some reservations, which are more serious than NWFP. The federal government should work on other development projects to meet targets set for water and power sector. The centre should create a national consensus on the controversial project, but this should not be taken as a pretext to delay other irrigation projects, sources added.
They said that the paper work on the project was started in 2004 and it was discussed in the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) meeting in early 2005. The project was referred to the PEC for its professional advice, which formed a expert group to deliberate upon the controversial issue raised by Wapda, the sources said.
All members of the study group were in favour of the NWFP after detailed presentation by provincial authorities and Wapda and recommended to the Planning Commission that the latter should include the project in the PSDP 2006-07 but the Water and Power Division and Wapda dumped the project, they added.
Wapda in its presentations raised the issues relating to preparation of feasibility, enormous size of pumps to carry 2,533 cusecs water to a height of 64 feet, large operation and maintenance (O&M) requirements of the project with ever-increasing electricity tariff. Wapda also stressed the need that the engineering of the project should be re-looked, the sources said.
Sources said that the project is in accordance with the Water Apportionment Accord 1991. There is no violation of the accord with the execution of the project, they said.