A parliamentary panel on Tuesday directed Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) to review details of payments to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) government under Aftab Ghulam Nabi (AGN) Kazi formula on account of net hydel profit (NHP) and submit details with the committee. The Senate Standing Committee on Water Resources met with Senator Shammin Afridi in the chair and expressed dismay over delay in payment of NHP to KPK, saying the Wapda should review the payment mechanism under AGN Kazi formula and provide details to the panel.
The vice-chairman NEPRA apprised the committee that KPK government owed Rs 91 billion to Wapda under NHP, adding that the Wapda owed Rs 200 billion to Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPA). The committee discussed Naulong Dam, Kachi Canal and payment of royalty on account of electricity generation to KPK. The panel asked the Wapda officials to provide authentic amount of outstanding dues of the KPK government against Wapda on account of net hydel profit.
Senator Sabir Shah asked about the payment schedule to the province. The DG Wapda Finance told that CPPA would confirm the payment schedule in the next meeting. In the previous meeting of the panel on July 19, 2019, Committee Member Senator Mushtaq Ahmed has stated that KPK should be given NHP as per Kazi Committee Methodology (KCM). According to Senator Mushtaq Ahmed, who had raised this issue in the Senate on December 12, 2018, the Centre is indebted to KPK of Rs 500 billion on account of NHP.
The panel also expressed serious anger over delay in the approval of PC-1 of Naulong Dam, Balochistan, and directed the Planning Commission (PC) to expedite the process of approving PC-1 of the dam, saying the people of the province desperately need the water reservoirs and the government should address the issue on urgent basis.
The committee was informed that Wapda had submitted revised PC-1 of the project in November last to the Planning Commission and nine months have been passed but the PC-1 of the project is still awaiting approval. The officials of Wapda further said that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) would provide 80 percent funds for the project while the government of Pakistan would bear remaining 20 per cent.
It was further informed that the Planning Commission is not approving PC-1 of the project due the issue of development command area by the Balochistan government. The panel was told that Rs 1.5 billion are specified for the acquisition of the land for the project in the PC-1. The Wapda would start procurement process after the approval of PC-1 of the project. The committee recommended that the Government of Balochistan and Wapda should sit together and decide which will take ownership of the project.
Senator Usman Khan Kakar raised the issue of Khazana Dam and questioned the reason for change of location. He demanded that those responsible for this be summoned in the next meeting. Briefings on sea intrusion in Sindh and Kachi Canal project were deferred. The meeting was attended by Senator Hasil Khan Bizenjo, Senator Muhammad Usman Khan Kakar, Senator Syed Muhammad Sabir Shah, Senator Agha Shahzaib Durrani and senior officers of the Ministry of Water Resources, Wapda, NEPRA along with all concerned.
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