ISLAMABAD: The Federal government on Wednesday moved the Supreme Court, with a petition seeking the release of dams’ funds collected for the construction of Diamer-Bhasha and Mohmand dams.
“We have submitted a miscellaneous petition,” Additional Attorney General Amir Rehman said in the case heard by a four-member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa.
“The amount of the dams’ funds should be released to the federal government and Wapda,” AAG pleaded with the court. “The State Bank had opened an account under the supervision of the supreme court,” the government attorney said.
“How many funds are deposited in the dams’ accounts,” the Chief Justice of Pakistan questioned. “There are around Rs20 billion in dams’ funds,” Wapda lawyer Saad Rasool informed the court.
“How this case began,” CJP Justice Faez Isa asked. “The supreme court had taken notice of the Wapda’s under-hearing cases in 2018,” the Wapda lawyer replied.
“Supreme Court’s dams funds implementation bench conducted 17 hearings,” the lawyer further said.
“There would be other Wapda projects, if the Supreme Court monitor all Wapda projects,” Qazi Faez Isa asked. “There were disputes among private parties over the building of dams,” Wapda’s lawyer clarified. “The supreme court fixed hearing of disputes in private parties with it,” lawyer added.
The Wapda counsel pleaded that the litigation between private parties should be heard at relevant judicial forums.
The court summoned record concerned of the case and adjourned hearing for a break.
The Supreme Court had announced a fund for construction of dams via an effort of crowd funding in July 2018.
The fund was launched for construction of two large dams, Diamer Bhasha and Mohmand Dam, in the country.
