ISLAMABAD, Nov 28: The federal government on Tuesday decided to appoint an international consultant to examine the problems being faced by the Rs400 million telemetry system that had been installed on a single-bid basis by the Wapda.

A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting here that was presided over by federal Minister for Water and Power Liaqat Ali Jatoi and attended among others by the managing director of Siemens — the contractor of the system.

The meeting constituted a committee led by Adviser of the Ministry of Water and Power Riaz Ahmad Khan and comprised members from all provinces, and the Indus River System Authority, Wapda, Prime Minister’s Inspection Commission and the power ministry.

The Committee will formulate Terms of Reference (TOR) for engagement of an international consultant.

The consultant will look into operability of system differences in data collection, formulae for discharge of water releases and its comparison with manual discharge measurement.

"The findings and recommendations of the consultant will be final and binding on all the stakeholders," an official statement said.