AHMAD AHMADANI
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has revealed that almost 75 per cent cost of the Kachhi canal project had gone to the pockets of commission agents. He directed exemplary punishment for the defaulters and ordered the placing of delinquent officials before the Cabinet.
Interestingly, despite the directions of PM and the decision of CCI, the ministry of water and power was not ready to take strict actions against all those who caused misappropriation. A sum of around Rs 26 billion loss occurred to the national exchequer.
Similarly, power ministry was to some extent struggling to save the faces of 12 officials including former chairman WAPDA, Zulfiqar Ali Khan, Ex-Member (Water) Muhammad Amin, Director Finance Furrukh Saeed, and former secretaries of ministries of planning and water & power.
Furthermore, the PM despite having knowledge of kick-back corruption in Kachhi canal project has handed over the matter to power ministry instead of referring the case to NAB for further probe and action.
Copies of official documents disclosed to Pakistan Today show that a report about an inquiry into corruption charges of Kachhi canal was placed before the premier. The PM observed that it was typical example of corruption in project formulation and its implementation.
It is unfortunate that public money is being wasted in kickbacks and commissions in this way, documents said.
The Prime Minister suggesting exemplary punishment for the defaulters directing that the implementation of the project should proceed in a transparent manner. Proposed actions against the delinquent officials shall be placed before the cabinet. He also directed to ensure completion of the first phase of the project by 30th June, 2017.
Earlier, on May 2nd, PM Sharif had ordered the ministry of water and power to ensure submission of inquiry into corruption charges of Kachhi canal before the cabinet and suggest punishments for all those responsible for delay and cost escalation of the project so that Cabinet may approve the punishment.
Sources in power ministry on condition of anonymity said that PM has surprisingly not handed over the matter to the NAB ostensibly because a company involved in the construction of project was of an influential landlord, and a big industrialist hailing from Sindh who was a friend of a former President from Sindh and Ex-WAPDA chairman too.
They said water and power ministry was in a fix what to do as there was some confusion in the decision asking to take actions against those responsible. Also, power ministry has sought explanation from the ministries of Inter-Provincial Coordination and PM House in this regard and put the case is in cold storage, sources said.
The sources also said that the government has still not any taken action against those responsible for delays and irregularities in Kachhi canal project while the cost of supplying water to the parched land and over two million population of Balochistan has soared up to over Rs 80 billion.
According to an inquiry report, the delay in Kachhi canal project has caused massive loss to the national exchequer; the 500 kilometer long project is still a pipe dream as construction work is still not completed though the project being initiated since 2002.
The Construction work of the canal was started without a feasibility study and Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) awarded the Kachhi canal project in violation of rules.
The report also transpired that informed that required standard was not being met in the planning, design, and construction of the project.
Last year, the council of common interests (CCI) formed a committee under the head Justice (retired) Tassaduq Hussain Jillani to probe the delay, irregularities and cost escalation of Kachhi canal project. The committee had held 20 meetings and asked 14 questions from the concerned officials. This committee has recommended strict action against all those responsible in the delay and cost increase of the canal.
Kachhi Canal off-takes from Taunsa Barrage on Indus River and passes through districts Muzaffargarh, Dera Ghazi Khan, Rajanpur in Punjab and then meanders through districts Dera Bugti, Naseerabad, Bolan and Jhal Magsi in Balochistan, the province in which the project’s command area lies.
It is worth mentioning here that WAPDA has assured the completion of Kachhi canal by December 2017 which as a result would change the fate of the farmers of Jaffarabad, Nasserabad, Dera Murad Jamali,Bolan, Sibbi, Dera Bugti districts.
