The government of Sindh has accused the federal government of making unilateral changes in the design of Nai Gaj Dam and deferring financing for it, which resulted in estimated project cost escalation to Rs 47 billion against the initial estimate of Rs 16.924 billion. This was revealed by Special Secretary Irrigation Sindh Aslam Ansari while briefing the Senate Standing Committee on Planning, Development and Reform which met with Agha Shahzaib Durrani in the chair here on Tuesday.
The committee repeatedly asked project director and member Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) for justifying the project cost escalation, but they did not satisfy the parliamentary panel. The committee directed Secretary Planning, Development and Reform Zafar Hassan to conduct an inquiry into the matter in one week and determine the facts behind the cost escalation.
The original PC-1 cost of Nai Gaj Dam project was Rs 16.924 billion which was later revised to Rs 26.236 billion and was approved by the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC) with reduced scope of work by deleting the essential components i.e. power house, access roads, pipeline to Manchar Lack and project colony. However, the PC-1 was revised again and submitted by Wapda and MoWR with estimated cost of Rs 46.98 billion and it included additional components like power house, project colony, access roads, actual cost of spillways and pipeline to Manchar Lake. The project was recommended by the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) and discussed by the ECNEC; however, it was deferred due to cost sharing by the government of Sindh.
The secretary planning informed the committee that second revised PC-1 is pending for Ecnec approval regarding cost sharing by the government of Sindh for 50 percent additional cost, whereas the government of Sindh has opined that the work component is to be fully funded by the federal government.
The special secretary Sindh informed the committee that the federal government had the responsibility to provide complete funding for the project, while the province had the responsibility of land procurement, settlement and security issues. He further said that the Wapda took unilateral decision of changing the project design while the federal government deferred its financing which led to cost escalation.
The secretary planning told the meeting that the matter has become quite complex in face of the new water policy and the best solution is to wait for the court's decision on the matter as it is sub judice. The chief engineer Wapda overseeing the project told the meeting that any changes made in the design did not have any financial implications.
The committee members expressed surprise over contradictory views presented by the Wapda and Sindh Irrigation Department.
The secretary planning told the meeting when too many projects are out in the yearly PSDP list, the funds get thinner and are spent over a longer period of years. The committee also noted that the kind of consultants involved in these projects are often found by to be of high calibre that can bring the projects to a meaningful conclusion and throw-forward liability of any project shouldn't be more than four years.
The committee observed that the project should have been completed in three years but it couldn't be completed in 10 years.
The secretary planning said that through-forward liabilities are major challenge and that is why 353 projects were deleted last year. The committee recommended that through-forward liabilities should not exceed a certain period of time.
The chairman stressed the need for setting priority projects looking into the resource availability before initiating the developmental projects and also asked for setting up a proper pattern for financing these projects.
Zafar Hassan apprised the meeting that the development projects demand from the provinces is increasing, adding that the forward liabilities are also huge.
He said that the lack of resources is also a reason behind delayed completion of these projects that also enhances their cost. However, he said that the government is formulating a policy in this regard to ensure completion of all social sector developmental projects within stipulated timeframe to avoid any unnecessary delay and price escalation.
The committee while discussing the matter of re-allocation of Rs 24 billion out of Rs 27 billion under the head of special initiative of CPEC towards other programmes was told that the mover Senator Mina Raza Rabbani has withdrawn the matter. The committee, however, decided to hear the officials about the breakup of the allocation of Rs 24 billion on yearly basis in its next meeting.
The senior officials of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) informed the committee that HEC had awarded 14,175 scholarships under its ongoing programmes for financial year 2019-20 with allocation of Rs 6.55 billion under PSDP.
It was also informed that 165,088 students paid back their fees under Prime Minister Fee Reimbursement Scheme. Besides, 3,000 scholarships were also provided to students of Afghanistan during the last year, while 3,000 more scholarships would be provided this year.
The committee was told by Member HEC Fatah Marri about 18 ongoing scholarship projects with more than 14,175 scholarships. These include 11,694 scholarships for PhD, 2,336 for undergraduate and 145 for MS/MPhil. The committee was told that HEC has so far awarded a total of 218,602 scholarships including foreign, local and need-based scholarships as well as under the Prime Minister Fee Reimbursement Programme.
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