ISLAMABAD: Despite ordering two special audits of the Nandipur power project and an inquiry under the Ministry of Water and Power, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has sought another separate investigation by the reputed former judge of the Supreme Court, Justice Nasir Aslam Zahid, which the latter politely declined to undertake.

Many believe that after facing unremitting criticism over the project’s failure it appears that the government is trying various options to get out of the embarrassing situation.

The National Accountability Bureau is already investigating why the project had consumed so much money and time and failed to produce the desired results – 425MW. Work on the project started in 2007 and was supposed to be completed in three to four years.

Also read-Editorial:Nandipur fiasco

Water and Power Secretary Younas Dagha told Dawn that on the directive of the prime minister, the ministry had in mid-Sept “written to Justice Zahid to carry out an inquiry into the Nandipur power project. In response, Justice Zahid has said he is busy and, therefore, cannot accept the responsibility”.

Asked if the ministry would request some other honourable retired judge to lead the inquiry, Mr Dagha said Justice Zahid’s decision would be conveyed to the prime minister after his return from the United States. “It was the prime minister who had recommended Justice Zahid’s name for the inquiry and, therefore, decision lies with him (PM) if at all he wants some other judge to do the investigation,” he said.

After a ‘grand inauguration’ of the Nandipur power project in May last year by the prime minister, along with the entire PML-N leadership, the government had been under tremendous pressure because it failed to add even a single megawatt to the national grid.

Soon after forming the government in 2013, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif took charge of the project and reportedly spent billions of rupees to make it fully operational on an emergency basis. The project has so far consumed about Rs60 to Rs80 billion which the PML-N government is accused of having wasted for no good to the masses.

For a senior government official, who refused to be quoted on record, it appeared strange that the prime minister had ordered yet another inquiry when the project was already under investigation at various levels.

In the presence of a special audit by the auditor general of Pakistan, another by a reputed international audit firm and a water and power ministry-supervised investigation to determine what led to the failure of the project, the official said, Justice Zahid had made the right decision to stay away from this mess.

“What if his findings would differ from those of the auditor general or the ministry in the end. It will only land him in the controversy which is already turning out to be a major challenge for the present government,” the official added.

Such an initiative by the prime minister only suggested that he did not trust his government’s ability to conduct a free and fair inquiry and was, therefore, looking for some independent-minded person to do the job, another government official said, adding that it might be the result of criticism the government was facing nowadays.

In the letter to Justice Zahid, the prime minister had sought his help “to identify reasons for non-functioning of the Nandipur power plant ever since its successful test run from July 23 to Aug 6, 2015, culminating at successful reliability test run; including, but not limited to, the matters pertaining to fuel treatment plant and placing a proper O&M (operations & maintenance) mechanism”.

If accepted, Justice Zahid would be examining “the pace of work on the project since its inception in 2007 in different time-periods and indicate and highlight factors and reasons”; and to fix responsibility on persons and organisations, as the case may be, for the inordinate delay in continued power generation by the plant.

In response, Justice Zahid wrote the Prime Minister Office: “At the outset I would like to thank the prime minister for the opportunity that has been extended to him for leading the inquiry relating to the Nandipur power project. Unfortunately, I will have to decline this offer as I am not able to travel frequently and have work commitments in Karachi which I am engaged with on a full-time basis.”

Published in Dawn October 1st, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play