ISLAMABAD: Minister for Water Resources Faisal Vawda has said the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (Ecnec) has approved the 4,320MW Dasu hydropower project and that work on it would start shortly.

Addressing a press conference on Monday, the minister said the project had been delayed for three and a half years and as a result the national kitty was suffering a daily loss of Rs300-360 million.

He said an inquiry was being conducted to determine who were involved in delaying the important project. The country had suffered a loss of billions due to this criminal negligence.

In response to a question, Mr Vawda said the previous government took a loan for the project without acquiring land for it. He said efforts would not only be made to curtail its cost but also to complete the project within the next four years.

He said the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) had inaugurated 34 projects without arranging funds and only two could be completed.

However, he said, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) would start projects for which funds were available. The minister said a special plan was devised for Sindh which would be a surprise to the people. However, he said the prime minister would announce the plan.

In response to another query, Mr Vawda said that conspiracies were being hatched to malign the state institutions. However, he categorically said the government would not bow down and the process of accountability would continue.

Responding to a question regarding video leaks, the minister said that every institution had its own complaint centre. The judiciary was an independent institution and would look into the matter, he added.

He said earlier a conspiracy was hatched to malign the National Accountability Bureau and now such tactics were being made to malign the judiciary.

Published in Dawn, July 16th, 2019