LAHORE: The opposition leader in the Punjab Assembly has announced moving the court on alleged corruption in the Nandipur power project and also demanded a session of the provincial house to the deteriorating law and order situation and rising prices of essential items.

Opposition Leader Mian Mahmoodur Rashid told a press conference on Friday the PML-N government raised the cost of the Nandipur power project from Rs22 billion to Rs57 billion without any cogent reason and the plant was still lying idle (despite its inauguration on May 31 by the prime minister).

He demanded that the judiciary take suo motu notice of the billions of rupees corruption in the project, saying that he would also file a petition on the issue.

He also demanded the resignation of federal minister of state Abid Sher Ali for “hoodwinking the masses” into inaugurating incomplete projects.

He said despite worst ever 15 to 20 hours loadshedding, electricity bills for June were 120 per cent more than those the consumers received for the same month last year.

He claimed 200 units were added to every household bill, while Rs144 billion were collected under the guise of Neelum-Jhelum surcharge, electricity duty, TV fee and GST.

He said the prime minister remained unmoved on the criminal act and so were courts and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif.

Mystery shrouds 425MW Nandipur plant

The opposition leader said that not a single unit of power was added to the national grid in the last one year despite spending billions of rupees from the public money. He demanded the ruler must explain how come the power crisis increased instead of decreasing. He said due to brownouts, electric appliances worth billions died. He urged the consumers to get cases registered against Wapda for such incidents.

Mr Rashid said that the law and order situation in the province had deteriorated as the law enforcement agencies had failed to trace the militants camping near the prime minister’s house in Raiwind for several months.

He said the chief minister refused to work with Inspector General Mushtaq Sukhaira, the successor of Khan Baig.

He said the “murderers” of the 14 people in the Model Town incident had yet to be brought to book and it was a big question mark on the justice system.

He alleged that former principal secretary to the chief minister Dr Tauqir Shah, removed after Model Town incident, was still running the affairs of the province while working in a private office and using lead pencils for jotting down notes on official files.

Mr Rashid said that Rana Sanaullah was under probe by the commission investigating the Model Town incident but the former law minister was appearing in TV talk shows and issuing statements on behalf of the federal and provincial governments.

“Is the commission aware of his activities?” he questioned.

He said more than 63,000 proclaimed offenders were roaming freely playing havoc with the life and property of the people in the province. The government must act and arrest them.

He said in the last six months a record 13,000 demonstrations were held against the Punjab government, a proof of the poor performance of the rulers.

Published in Dawn, July 19th , 2014