ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday shaped a committee to reactivate the Neelum-Jhelum hydropower project, directing the related officers to complete investigation into its current closure and determine these chargeable for the defects in its design.
While chairing a gathering at PM House throughout which a preliminary investigation report was offered, the prime minister expressed annoyance over the ‘criminal negligence’ dedicated in the previous and ordered quick completion of the probe and strict motion in opposition to these discovered chargeable for it.
“Experts pointed out that there were defects in the design, concrete lining was not done, how unfortunate is that such a big and important project was neglected,” Mr Sharif mentioned, whereas questioning why an in depth geological survey had not been carried out for the project.
He remarked that ‘criminal negligence’ was dedicated by not conducting a 3rd celebration validation of the project.
Minister for Economic Affairs Ahad Khan Cheema, Information Minister Ataullah Tarrar, Power Minister Awais Leghari, Petroleum Minister Musadik Malik, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Jehanzeb Khan, Coordinator to PM Rana Ehsaan Afzal, Wapda Chairman Sajjad Ghani, former inside secretary Shahid Khan and different excessive officers attended the assembly.
Former inside secretary Shahid Khan, who’s heading the investigation committee probing current faults in the hydropower project, offered the preliminary investigation report on the assembly.
In an in depth briefing, the PM was knowledgeable that as a result of a drop in stress in the precise and left headrace tunnels of Neelum-Jhelum hydropower project on April 29, there was a discount in energy era, which utterly stopped in a while May 2.
While issuing directives for quick completion of the investigation, the PM instructed the officers that the project’s closure was inflicting a loss of thousands and thousands of rupees to the nationwide exchequer.
Mr Sharif was knowledgeable that the place the place the present fault occurred was the rock burst zone.
The assembly was apprised {that a} vital lower in energy era was seen as a result of an irregular drop in stress in the headrace tunnel in 2021 as effectively, however the irregular change in the stress had been ignored and never even reported. “The matter was deliberately suppressed,” the PM was instructed.
During the PTI regime, no restore work was achieved after the abnormality in the project, which resulted in a rise in losses, the assembly was instructed.
The PM was knowledgeable that defects developed in the hydropower project in 2021 had been additionally being made half of the investigation report.
Also, as a result of a fault in the tailrace tunnel, energy era was suspended in 2022.
Besides, geophysical and seismic elements had been ignored in the construction of Neelum-Jhelum hydropower project and ample concrete lining of the headrace tunnel was not carried out.
Published in Dawn, July 15th, 2024
