Islamabad:
The Minister of Invance, Ahsan Iqbal, said Thursday that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had a commission of inquiry to bring legal action against the managers of the tunnel in the neelum-jhelum hydroelectric project of 500 billion rupees (NJHP).
Speaking at a press conference, Iqbal said that the Commission, led by a retirement judge, had been trained on the basis of the conclusions of two separate committees. He added that the Commission will hear the persons involved before organizing legal proceedings.
According to the mandate (twists), the Commission will recommend legal, administrative and financial actions against those responsible. He will classify responsibility as serious negligence, procedural lack or potential criminal responsibility as the case may be, reads a notification.
Iqbal called the NJHP failure an “expensive and obvious error”. He said that the restoration of the 969 megawatts project which has been closed since May of last year, was still not in sight because the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) had not yet submitted the PC-I for the renewal.
In May of this year, the Minister of Water Resources, Muhammad Moeen, informed the National Assembly that the NJHRP restoration process was to take two more years.
A few months ago, Wapda had proposed to the government that the tunnel should be rebuilt with an estimated cost of 250 to 300 billion rupees or that it should be repaired by spending about 20 billion rupees. The government also had an international panel of experts (IPOE) to investigate the structural problems affecting the race tunnel at the head of the project (thS).
The panel was responsible for identifying the causes of recent challenges. The report highlighted the areas of the tunnel floor which required attention, in addition to the recommendations of improving the ventilation, lighting and safety measures of workers.
In May this year, the federal office approved to set up a commission of inquiry under the Pakistan Commission of Inquiry Act 2017, to investigate the NJHP.
The judge (RETD) Tariq Abbasi is the chairman of the commission of inquiry, who has time until August 20 to finalize his report, according to the notification. The other members include Shahid Khan and the secretaries of the Establishment division, the water resources division and the chief engineer of the Pak army.
The twists of the commission imply a sequential analysis of all key decisions in planning, design, execution and surveillance; Establish a clear responsibility for omissions, delays and judgment errors that led to the collapse of the tunnel.
The Commission was responsible for verifying compliance with engineering standards, project management protocols and directives of the Executive Economic Council (ECNEC) and the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) and other regulatory organizations.
It is necessary to identify responsible individuals and to determine whether the failures in geological assessments, the lining of the tunnel and the management of water pressure resulted from negligence, incompetence or deliberate misconduct, linking specific losses to responsible officials.
The Commission assesses the role of surveillance organizations, consultants and entrepreneurs to identify failures in the attenuation of risks, contractual obligations or deceptive insurances, and fix the responsibility accordingly.
During the press conference, Iqbal also talked about the economic conditions in force and the achievements of this government over the past year. He said the government has managed to reduce inflation to an average of 4.5% – the lowest since 2016.
“Effective budgetary consolidation and the stability of the external sector underline the stronger than expected recovery trajectory of Pakistan, he said, adding that economic performance reflected prudent economic management and indicates increasing confidence in the capacity of Pakistan to navigate external shocks and to maintain a path to stability and inclusive growth.
It is up to a question about the government’s inability to achieve investment objectives, the minister said investors were concerned about Macroeconomic stability in Pakistan and legal challenges. He added that after bringing political and economic stability and made constitutional changes throughout the 26th amendment, investors’ confidence was restored. He expressed the hope that foreign investment will begin to resume this year.
Pakistan’s macroeconomic performance during the 20102525 financial year demonstrated resilience despite the world’s opposite winds, the growth of GDP reaching 2.7% and inflation falling strongly to an average of 4.5%, reads the development report of development that the Ministry of Planning published Thursday.
He added that the government’s strategic emphasis on high impact, inclusive and exports projects under the PSDP is aligned with “Uraan Pakistan” priorities, emphasizing exports, digitization, green growth, energy security and social equity.
