The Standing Committee of the National Assembly on Water Resources approved all the projects of the Water & Power Development Authority (WAPDA) for the fiscal year (FY) 2021-22.
The meeting was presided over by the committee’s Chairman Nawab Muhammad Yousaf Talpur; and the Chairman WAPDA, Secretaries, the Irrigation Department, Punjab, Balochistan, and Additional Secretary, the Irrigation Department Sindh attended the meeting via video link.
The Standing Committee was informed that the WAPDA had demanded Rs. 178,282 million for the FY 2019-20, but the government has released Rs. 76,992 million so far. The committee was apprised that the WAPDA had divided its projects into three categories, and the projects related to the Bhasha Dam, the Mehmand Dam, and the Greater Katchi Canal have been given first priority.
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The Standing Committee called for the inclusion of the Naulong Dam project in the first priority for the PSDP of 2021-22 so that this significant project of Balochistan may not be delayed. Similarly, it gave a directive for the inclusion of the Chirrah Dam project in the PSDP of the upcoming financial year so that the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad may not have a shortage of water.
The committee was informed that certain provinces had not submitted their development proposals, owing to which the Ministry of Water Resources had found it difficult to compile the PSDP on time. Consequently, the committee announced that the PSDP related to the Federal Flood Commission, the IRSA, and the other departments attached to the Ministry of Water Resources are to be submitted before it in its next meeting.
It also stated that it was interested in the timely completion of the projects related to Water Resources because delays in national projects lead to national losses. It was informed that the Glacier Monitoring Network would be established to collect information about the glaciers.
According to the project, basic data about the snowfall on the glaciers and the melting of the glaciers will be collected on 34 points, a field office will be established at Skardu, and a Central Monitoring Research Centre will be established in Lahore.
The committee was apprised that this project is of Rs. 892 million, whereas Rs. 225 million has been approved for the FY 2021-22. Therefore, it approved Rs. 560 million for FY 2021-22 to complete the Glacier Monitoring Network project.
The Standing Committee approved the projects worth billions of rupees including the Hydro Training Institute Mangla, the rehabilitation of the Hydro Power Project Dargai, the rehabilitation of the Hydro Power Project Chitral, the rehabilitation of the Hydro Power Station Warsak Dam, the Up-rising project of the Mangla Dam, the Tarbela-IV, the Tarbela-V, the Hydro Power Project Dasu, the Khyal Khawar Project, the Neelum Jhelum Hydro Power Project, the Golan Gol Project, and others.
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The meeting was also attended by the Members of the National Assembly (MNAs) — Fazal Muhammad Khan, Ali Nawaz Awan, Sheikh Rashid Shafiq, Dr. Muhammad Afzal Khan Dhandla, Chaudhary Javed Iqbal Warraich, Naureen Farooq Ibrahim, Nuzhat Pathan, Khalid Hussain Magsi, and Ehsan-ur-Rehman Mazari. MNA Chaudhary Shokat Ali Bhatti attended it online via video link.
The Parliamentary Secretary for Water Resources, Saleh Muhammad, and officers from the federal Ministry of Water Resources, Irrigation Departments, WAPDA, Federal Flood Commission, Small Dams Organization, the Punjab, and the Chairman and Members IRSA attended the meeting.
