PESHAWAR, Dec 23: NWFP government has vowed to wage a battle in the Supreme Court over the case filed by the Wapda against the arbitration commission’s decision which asked the authority to pay net hydel profit dues to the province.

This was decided during a meeting of the provincial cabinet on Saturday. According to a handout, the cabinet had taken notice of the delaying tactics employed by the Wapda in implementing the arbitration commission’s decision and urged the federal government to intervene in the situation. Two committees were constituted – one of them led by provincial Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Malik Zafar Azam and with Minister for Food Fazle Rabbani as its member. This committee was tasked to prepare the case in the light of proposals of Abdul Hafiz Pirzada.

The second committee – led by the Speaker of the NWFP Assembly, Bakht Jehan Khan, with provincial ministers Fazle Ali Haqqani and Inayatullah Khan as its members – would hold talks with all political leaders within and outside the assembly to evolve a consensus on the issue. The committee was asked to start working immediately.

The cabinet was briefed on the sale of the Pehur hydroelectric power house. It was informed that the 18-megawatt power project was being completed under the provincial government’s supervision.

It was informed that the project’s tariff could be determined on the pattern of the proposed tariff for the Malakand-III project and could range between 5.95 US cents and 4.76 cents per unit.

The cabinet decided to negotiate with the Nepra the sale of electricity generated from the Pehur project to Wapda and directed officials concerned that the negotiating team should comprise experts. The cabinet also approved extension in the period for disposing of the timbre lying along the Karakoram Highway. The period was fixed as March 1-June 30, 2007.

Criticising Wapda for blocking payment of dues by Wapda to the NWFP, the chief minister said that his government had devised a comprehensive strategy for development of the province in view of the arbitration commission decision.