Locals move SC after political rivalry leaves them thirsty

Residents file a petition to revive Murree Bulk Water Supply Project.

ISLAMABAD:

Pressing for resumption of work on an abandoned water supply project in the area, residents of Murree moved the Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday. In their petition, the locals alleged that Murree Bulk Water Supply Project was abandoned for political reasons and said it was critical to ease the water shortage in the hill station.

Javed Iqbal Satti and four others filed the peition through their counsel Malik Qamar Afzal seeking court direction to revive the public interest project that has been pending since the past four years. The SC registrar admitted the petition for hearing.

The petitioners’ counsel maintained that the project launched in 2005 at an estimated cost of Rs2293.13 million included purification of water and pumping of water to reservoirs for supply to the public. The project allotted to a private firm was to be completed in 21 months.

A 132KV grid station was to be installed at Chaprian for which Rs350 million were paid to Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda). The station was then going to power a filtration plant near Jhelum River and pumping stations would have taken water up the hill. However, this project has not completed despite the fact that Rs3.25million were spent on it by the previous government.

Work started in 2006 after the contract was given to a private firm, Siemens, for Rs4 billion to pump water from Neelum-Jhelum River near Kotli Sattian to Murree. The project was to be completed by December 2008, to supply 6 million gallons of water a day to Murree and adjoining areas. Four tanks have been built at different points to supply water to the main tank at Kashmir Point, said Afzal.

The petitioner maintained that funds were not allocated for the project in the current budget and it was abandoned despite the fact that 60 per cent work had been completed at great expense. He claimed that the Punjab government abandoned the project due to political considerations even though it was in the public interest due to acute shortage of water in Murree, especially during the tourist season.

He alleged that PML-N MNA Shahid Khaqan Abbasi criticised the project on political grounds because it was launched during the PML-Q’s tenure.

The petitioners requested the court to direct the respondents to complete the project and to initiate criminal proceedings for the huge loss incurred to the national exchequer.

Punjab Civil Secretariat secretary, Wapda Lahore chairman, Project Director Bulk Water Supply Project from Jhelum to Murree, NESPAK and Siemens Engineers Pakistan Limited were made respondents in this case.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 5^th, 2012.