January 22, 2003	Wednesday	Ziqa’ad 18, 1423

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ISLAMABAD, Jan 21: A spokesperson for SUNGI Tuesday clarified a news item in a section of the press quoting the Wapda chairman as saying that the SUNGI and late Omar Asghar had asked the government not to recover the money allegedly embezzled by the people arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in Ghazi Barotha land acquisition scam.

Terming the accusation as baseless, the spokesperson said it was not SUNGI but the affected people of the area, who raised the issue to the government by holding a number of protest demonstrations. So far as the SUNGI and Omar Asghar were concerned, they had just facilitated the deprived and marginalized people in raising their voice for justice, he added.

He termed the allegation levelled against Omar Asghar Khan by Wapda chairman as unethical because the former was dead and could not explain his position.

He said the World Bank, Government of Pakistan and Wapda jointly made the resettlement action plan (RAP) for the people, who were to be displaced by Ghazi Barotha Hydro Power Project (GBHPP). Again the Wapda was also involved in the land compensation process that took place under the RAP, said the spokesperson. Therefore, if any corruption took place in the land compensation process, the involvement of Wapda officials cannot be ruled out, he added. But it was questionable why the NAB authorities were harassing only the poor and marginalized people and taking no serious investigation against any Wapda or government official in the case,” questioned the SUNGI official.

Raising another corruption scam, he said according to a government inquiry commission report, Rs70.5 million had been embezzled out of Rs90 million allocated for resettlement of the people affected by Chotiari Reservoir in Sindh. He said the SUNGI was very concerned about the tight-lipped attitude of Wapda high- ups in this scandal.