First meeting of Dams Implementation Committee

First meeting of Dams Implementation Committee

  • Print
Details
Hits: 2566

July 12, 2018: In the wake of the Supreme Court’s historic judgement of July 4, 2018 aimed at expediting the construction of two mega dams i.e. Diamer Basha and Mohmand, the maiden meeting of the Implementation Committee of Diamer Basha and Mohmand Dams (ICDBMD) was held today at ICDBMD Secretariat in Islamabad.

The meeting, presided over by ICDBMD / WAPDA Chairman Lt Gen Muzammil Hussain (R), was attended by the Members announced by the Supreme Court in its judgement including Additional Secretary (Budget) Finance Division, Joint Secretary (Water), Ministry of Water Resources) Joint Secretary Prime Minister’s Office, Senior Chief (Water) Planning Division, Chief Secretary Gilgit Baltistan, Senior Member Board of Revenue Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Additional Chief Secretary (Development) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. As many as 18 Co-opted Members including WAPDA former Chairmen Shamsul Mulk and Zafar Mahmood were also among the participants of the meeting.

Speaking on the occasion, ICDBMD / WAPDA Chairman Lt Gen Muzammil Hussain (R) said that the Supreme Court’s landmark judgement has provided the Committee with an opportunity to contribute towards the national cause of steering the country out of the water crisis. He further said that it is a huge responsibility on part of the Members in view of the looming water crisis in the country. The Chairman expressed the hope that all the Members will play their due role in timely implementation of Diamer Basha and Mohmand Dams, which will enable the country of storing 9.3 million acre feet (MAF) of water and generating 5300 mega watt (MW) of low-cost and environment-friendly hydel electricity. 

Later, ICDBMD Secretary Syed Mehar Ali Shah briefed the meeting about the frame work and draft terms of reference of the Coordination Committee.

The Committee discussed in detail the ways and means to effectively overseeing the two projects. The meeting decided to constitute five Sub Committees namely Land Acquisition and Resettlement Committee, Finance Committee, Procurement Committee, Security Committee and Coordination Committee; one each for Diamer Basha and Mohmand Dams. It was also decided that the Sub Committees will make their presentations on July 20. The Sub Committees will also finalise and submit their reports on July 23 relating to the issues and the ways to resolve them. Subsequently, the progress report will be submitted to the Supreme Court on July 24 in line with directions of the Court.