No reason to collect Neelum-Jhelum Surcharge: Senate panel

Committee recommends collection of surcharge be stopped by next month

ISLAMABAD:

A senate panel on Tuesday recommended to the power ministry to stop the collection of Neelum-Jhelum Surcharge through electricity bills by next month.

The Senate Standing Committee on Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, which met with Senator Agha Shahzaib Durrani in the chair, also sought an explanation within a week for collecting the surcharge despite the completion of the project.

The panel further expressed its dissatisfaction over the performance to achieve the goals for sustainable development.

The participants of the meeting were informed that the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) had collected an extra amount of Rs4.7 billion from power consumers under the head of Neelum-Jhelum Surcharge.

The chairman of the committee noted that as the project had already achieved its commercial operations and was earning money by producing the electricity, Wapda should immediately stop collecting the surcharge.

Power Ministry Joint Secretary Khair Muhammed informed the panel that a summary had already been moved by the ministry to divert the surcharge to other projects including Diamer-Bhasha dam and the Economic Coordination Committee of the Cabinet would decide the matter.

The committee, however, was not convinced and recommended that surcharge should be abolished. It added that a new summary for collecting surcharge for other projects should be moved.

The panel also took up the issue of the metro bus project from Peshawar Morr to New Islamabad Airport.

The Capital Development Authority (CDA) informed the committee that there were no buses for the project yet. It added that a sum of Rs1.80 billion was required to purchase 30 buses for the project but the funds for this purpose had not been released yet.

The chairman of the committee noted that 96% of the work on the project had been completed and it should become operational soon.

The meeting was informed the Punjab Mass Transit Authority’s (PMTA) refusal to take ownership of the project’s operation work because of the issue of subsidy had also delayed it.

Therefore, the government is now establishing a Capital Mass Transit Authority that would own the project. The draft of the Authority bill had already been approved by the cabinet and vetted by the law ministry and it would be tabled in parliament soon for approval.

Wapda officials informed the panel that during the land acquisition process for Diamer-Bhasha dam, 4,102 households were affected and all of them had been compensated.

They further said Mohmand dam had the installed power capacity of 800 MW with water storage capacity of 1.3 million acre feet.

Senator Usman Kakar said there was an acute water shortage in Mohmand district and one canal should be planned for the area from the dam.

The official working on the project replied that there were two canals planned from the dam that would pass through Mohmand district and benefit the people of the area.

The chairman of the committee also observed that many irrigation schemes in Sindh were hit by delay. The irrigation officials from Sindh blamed the delay in the issuance of funds for the schemes for the problem.

(With input from APP)