High voltage transmission line: Court issues notices to Ministry of Water and Power, WAPDA, others

Says cannot grant stay until it hears respondents first.

ISLAMABAD: Court notices were issued to the Ministry of Water and Power, Wapda, the National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC), and an official of the Islamabad Electric Supply Company (Iesco), on a petition against the installation of a heavy voltage transmission line (HVTL) in a village located in Murree on Tuesday.

Justice Athar Minallah issued notices to the respondents for the next week, while hearing the petition of residents of Mouza Sandhian against the installation of the HVTL passing through the lands and houses, and allegedly putting lives and properties of petitioners’ families at risk.

The court, however, did not grant stay against the construction work observing that the project was of public importance, and stay could not be granted without hearing the respondents.

Petitioners, Muhammad Ishfaq and Muhammad Kamil through their counsel Muhammad Shafqat Abbasi said that the heavy voltage lines could not be installed near the population as it would adversely affect the movement, routine work, health, safety and security of the petitioners and their family members.

The HVTL installation is associated with the Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Plant, which is part of an under construction run-of-the-river hydro-electric power scheme designed to divert water from the Neelum River to a power station on the Jhelum River.

The power station is located in Azad Kashmir, 22 kilometres south of Muzaffarabad — and will have an installed capacity of 969 megawatts.

Construction on the project began in 2008 after a Chinese consortium was awarded the construction contract in July 2007.

The first generator is scheduled to be commissioned in July 2017 and the entire project is expected to be completed in December 2017.

Abbasi said that when the residents raised voice against the construction of foundation in order to erect poles, the respondents using their influence lodged the FIR against seven persons in Murree police station.

The counsel said that the respondents ignored that the installation of the HTVL near the population would increase the danger of lightening during the thunderstorm, adding that it would result in loss of property and lives.

He also said that the respondents’ act was in violation of the environmental protection laws.

The petitioners have clarified that they were not in favour of complete stoppage of the project or scrapping the entire scheme, as energy was the oxygen for the daily life.

They have requested for an alternate route for the installation of the HVTL saying that balance should be made between the rights of the citizens and plan to be executed for the welfare and economic progress of the public.

Abbasi said that the petitioners due to the poverty and ignorance could not stand in front of mighty respondents but only court could intervene into the matter by appointing an independent and impartial commission on the subject.

He has prayed before the court to restrain the respondents from installing and constructing the foundation of the HTVL lines on an area of two kilometres in length in Sandhian village of Murree Tehsil. Following the arguments, the court issued notices to the respondents for the next week.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 8^th, 2016.