ISLAMABAD, March 10: The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Water and Power has proposed establishment of special courts for a swift legal action against those involved in power theft.

The meeting of the committee was held here on Saturday and was presided over by MNA Ghulam Murtaza Maitla.

The committee also unanimously called for relaxation of criterion while considering the feasibility of provision of electricity to villages all over the country should be relaxed.

Wapda Chairman Tariq Hameed informed the committee about the state of outstanding dues of Wapda and their recovery in all distribution companies. He said necessary steps were being taken by the Wapda to recover outstanding dues. He provided details of amounts payable against the distributing companies.

Tariq Hameed said that the Wapda was trying to complete all its projects ahead of schedule. He said this was important because of water and power shortages in the country.

Tariq Hamid said that several Wapda projects were serving the dual purpose of irrigating agricultural lands and generating electricity.

The member (Water) Wapda, Mohammad Mushtaq Chaudhry, concisely briefed the meeting about the next five-year plan for authority’s development schemes. He said that presently the Wapda was working on five mega projects, including the Diamer Bhasha dam, Kalabagh dam, Kurram Tangi dam, Munda dam and Akhori dam.

However, the committee suggested that a one point agenda meeting should be called to discuss next five-year plans of Wapda.

The Secretary of the Ministry of Water and Power, Ishaq Mehmood, briefed the committee about the Alternative Energy Development Board Ordinance, 2006.