The National Assembly Standing Committee on Water Resources was informed on Monday that Neelum-Jhelum Hydro Power Project is closed and a loss of billions of rupees was incurred as a result.
The Standing Committee was informed that the drainage tunnel between the powerhouse and the river Jhelum collapsed so the Hydro Power Project was closed.
The names of all Project Directors of Neelum-Jhelum will be provided to the Standing Committee and the government will give the research budget to the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources.
These directions were given by the Standing Committee on Water Resources in its meeting held today in the Parliament House, Islamabad. The meeting was presided over by the honorable Mir Ghulam Ali Talpur, MNA.
The Standing Committee was informed that opening the tunnel’s blockage will cost around Rs. 2.69 billion. Thereafter, the estimate for repair work will be carried out.
Similarly, some consultants have been hired who will guide WAPDA regarding the repair of the tunnel. The consultants shall also inform about the reasons for the incident. The cost of consultancy service will be Rs. 415 million. The Standing Committee directed that the project’s responsibility lies upon the people who built the tunnel.
The Standing Committee was informed by WAPDA authorities that the project was made according to PC-I.
The Standing Committee did not accept the statement and declared that the project was started during the era of Gen. Pervaiz Musharaf. So it should be revised that PC-I and WAPDA are apparently hiding the facts. The Standing Committee directed that an inquiry be initiated and those responsible for the blockage should be penalized accordingly.
The Standing Committee was informed that PC-IV could not be finalized until today. The Committee showed serious displeasure because the project was completed in 2018 and the PC-IV should have been completed by that time. But after a lapse of four years, the PC-IV could not be finalized. Hence, WAPDA was directed to hold an assessment and inform the Standing Committee regarding the delays in preparing PC-IV.
The Standing Committee was informed that the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) is a research organization. It has a budget of Rs. 500 million, but it has no budget for research. Therefore, the Standing Committee directed that the government should provide a sufficient budget for research to PCRWR in the next financial year.
Moreover, the Standing Committee directed that all research on PCRWR should be made available in generic forms in Urdu and other local languages.
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