MUZAFFARABAD: The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) government has restructured the board of Power Development Organisation (PDO)through a presidential ordinance.

The board takes decisions about hydropower generation projects in the AJK.

The AJK Power Development Organisation (Amendment) Ordinance 2014 came just days before December 9 when the AJK Legislative Assmebly meets.

Besides, the need for restructuring arose after an alleged tug of war between some influential members of the AJK government over the allotment of the contract of Rs7 billion Jagran-II hydropower project. 

In June this year, the PDO board had decided to award the contract of the 48-megawatt project, located in Neelum valley, to China International Water and Electric Corporation (CWE) for being a ‘responsive lowest bidder’.

The other contender for the project was Sinohydro, also a Chinese company.

The decision was taken through voting by the board members. The board was then headed by the prime minister and comprised 10 members, including two cabinet members -minister in-charge of PDO and minister for finance/planning and development.  

During the meeting, four members, including PDO’s in-charge minister Chaudhry Mohammad Yasin, had supported Sinohydro while as many, including finance minister Chaudhry Latif Akbar, had voted for the CWE.

Two members had called for fresh evaluation and bidding.

As Prime Minister Chaudhry Abdul Majeed (chairman board) also threw his weight behind the pro-CWE members, the decision was made in its favour.

However, Mr Yasin did not accept the decision as ‘fair’ and had written a “note of dissent” to PM Majeed shortly afterwards.

Ever since, there had been statements and counter statements by both sides, with Mr Yasin publicly criticising the award process and the prime minister’s camp defending it.

The award process was also challenged in the AJK High Court by an opposition PML-N lawmaker due to which the PDO was unable to issue the work to the CWE.

On September 24, the World Bank Group announced that the CWE debarment and its controlled affiliates for a period of three years with conditional release. 

The debarment followed an investigation by the WB’s Integrity Vice Presidency (INT) into allegations of sanctionable practices involving the company in a hydropower project in Africa and a roads project in South East Asia, according to a statement still available on WB website.

An official source told Dawn that it was in the wake of the WB announcement, the donor - Agence Française de Développement (AFD) - opined to the PDO and the federal government’s Economic Affairs division to go for Jagran-II project’s rebidding.

However, the rebidding process could not be initiated due to non-convening of the PDO board meeting, the source claimed.

Under the amended law, the AJK prime minister as well as minister for finance/planning and development and the chief secretary have been excluded from the authoritative PDO board.

The prime minister has replaced the in-charge PDO minister as chairman board.

Apart from that, the amended law places the nomination of any member from private sector at the discretion of the chairman board.

Earlier, the AJK Chamber of Commerce and Industry president used to be a board member from private sector.

The other members, who remained unchanged, include additional chief secretary-development, secretary electricity, secretary finance, managing director PDO, director general AJK Private Power Cell (PPC), managing director Private Power Infrastructure Board (PPIB) of the Government of Pakistan, and senior director PDO who also serves as secretary board.

A well-placed source in the government claimed that the hasty promulgation of ordinance had been done under the strict instructions of some PPP leaders in Pakistan, whose decision-making authority in AJK affairs is an open secret in the region.

However, Arshad Sani, a spokesman for Mr Yasin told Dawn that the restructuring had been taken to expedite the tapping of hydropower potential in AJK.

Published in Dawn, December 4th, 2014