Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) has blamed Ministry for Planning, Development and Reforms for causing delay and subsequent cost escalation in Nai Gaj dam project. Senior WADPA officials while briefing the Senate Standing Committee on Planning, Development and Reforms, which held here on Friday under the chairmanship of Senator Shahzeb Durrani, said that Nai Gaj dam project was hit by different controversies from initial stages.

They said that the construction cost in beginning was estimated at Rs 59 billion and the plan was sent to the Ministry of Planning, Development and Reforms for approval which reduced the construction cost to Rs 26 billion but over the years out of Rs 26 billion allocation, the commission has released only Rs 5 billion for the project.

The Senate standing committee discussed the current status of the Nai Gaj dam in Dadu, Sindh, the provincial wise distribution of HEC scholarships and delay in the construction of family suits of Parliament Lodges. The committee also discussed the implementation status of its previous recommendation for supplying clean water to Gwadar and PSDP allocations in this regard. The committee was informed that work on Nai Gaj dam was started in September 2009 but was delayed due to changes in its design and financial problems.

The WAPDA official informed the meeting the contract was awarded in 2013 and the project was supposed to be completed in three years. In 2015 the PC-I of the project was revised but the work was not started. The meeting was told that in 2018 once again the PC-1 was revised.

The committee was informed that WAPDA included additional components such as a power house, project colony, access roads, cost of spillways and pipeline to the Manchar Lake, increasing the cost of completion of the dam to Rs 46.73 billion.

Official of the Planning Ministry informed that work has been stopped on the project since 2018. The PC-1 will be submitted for approval by the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC). It was further informed that out of 7,507 acres of land for the project, the government of Sindh has given only 303 acres of land. Sindh is also not ready to pay its 50 percent share of the project. The chairman committee asked him to stop talking and find a solution for the problems.

Senator Rukhsana Zubairi said that action should be taken against those who have caused delay in the project. Senator Rana Maqbool Ahmad said when funds are not available, new projects should not be started.

Agha Shahzeb Durrani showed his displeasure over delay in providing the monitoring report of the project. He said that eight months ago the committee had issued clear instruction that Planning Ministry and WAPDA should dispatch their monitoring teams to the Nai Gaj and provide report to the committee. However the directives were not implemented, he added.

The matter of 300 scholarships in 50 different sectors was also discussed and the chairman of the committee said that no progress was made on the issue. He said that the committee had recommended these scholarships for women to make them more powerful. The officials of the HEC said that they will provide detailed report in this regard in the upcoming meeting.

The committee was also briefed about the revised renewable energy policy 2019 and it was informed that it will be presented during the next cabinet meeting.

On the issue of clean drinking water to Gwadar, the committee was informed the project was underway and 45 percent work has been completed. The committee was informed that the Planning Commission has not released any funds during the first quarter of 2019.

The committee was informed that during the last 17 years, a total of 243,731 scholarships have been granted to Master, MPhil and PhD students.