ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) directed relevant authority to transfer the amount in Dams Fund’s account maintained by State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to the Public Account of the federation, and it should be closed.
A three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, on Thursday, released a written order on the applications regarding advertisement by UBL and HBL for raising of funds for Diamer Bhasha and Mohmand Dam. The bench disposed of the applications.
According to the SBP report, submitted in the SC, the total amount (principal and mark-up) in the Dam Fund account is Rs23,670,083,043, as on 4 October, 2024. Out of the total, collected amount was Rs11,475,776,584 and the mark-up earned thereon was Rs12,194,306,459.
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The order said; “The amount in account No. 03-593-299999-001-4 maintained in the name of ‘The Supreme Court of Pakistan and the Prime Minister of Pakistan Diamer-Bhasha and Mohmand Dams Fund’ by the SBP is directed to be transferred to the Public Account of the Federation (in terms of Article 78(2)(b) of the Constitution).
“Upon transfer of the total amount from the account No. 03-593-299999-001-4 maintained in the name of ‘The Supreme Court of Pakistan and the Prime Minister of Pakistan Diamer-Bhasha and Mohmand Dams Fund’ the account should be closed; A sub-account in the Public Account of the Federation be created or other appropriate measure be taken to enable the said amount to be lent to the best rated private scheduled bank(s) so that mark-up can be earned thereon; “When any amount is required for the construction of the said dams the amount collected and mark-up accrued thereon should be so utilized,” concluded the order.
In the last hearing, Wapda’s counsel Saad Rasool had briefed that the present projected cost of the said dams is seven hundred and forty billion rupees (Diamer Bhasha Dam to cost four hundred and eighty billion rupees, and Mohmand Dam to cost two hundred and sixty billion rupees).
The Court noted that the amount in the said account constitutes only 3.2 per cent of the money required to build the said dams, and of such amount the larger portion the federal government itself has paid in the form of mark-up.
Saad also said that on the directions of a five-judge bench, the Wapda periodically submits progress reports, and this application is the progress report for the period January 2023 to August 2024.
A SC bench comprising the then Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Faisal Arab, Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar on 9th January, 2019 through an order designated five judges of the SC as the Implementation Bench, namely, Justice Sh Azmat Saeed, Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Faisal Arab, Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar.
CJP Faez noted that the record does not show that the Implementation Bench undertook any work or that the progress reports submitted by Wapda were ever examined by it. The order said; “If the Implementation Bench did not examine the progress reports then their submission is pointless.”
It further observed, except for one, all the judges of the Implementation Bench have since retired and were not replaced by this Court. The filing of the progress reports without the same being examined by the Implementation Bench served no purpose. “And, now there is also no Implementation Bench as four of its members have retired/resigned. Therefore, unless specifically directed, WAPDA need not submit further progress reports in this Court,” said the order.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024