PESHAWAR, Sept 10: The provincial cabinet has called upon the federal government to ensure early payment of Rs110 billion that Wapda has to pay as arrears of net hydel profit as decided by an arbitration tribunal in 2006.

The cabinet has formed a committee comprising senior ministers, finance minister, minister for inter-provincial coordination, provincial chief secretary and other officials concerned to prepare a case on the issue. It has also formed two other committees to prepare recommendations for the proposed Bill on Council of Common Interests and payment of royalty to oil and gas producing districts.

Giving details of the cabinet meeting at the government’s media centre here on Wednesday, Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said Wapda had to pay Rs500 billion as arrears of net hydel profit estimated for the period between 1974 and 1992, but the present government had decided to demand Rs110 billion decided by the arbitration tribunal and agreed by the previous provincial government.

He said although the matter was sub-judicious, the cabinet had decided to take up it with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. He said a jirga headed by Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti and comprising provincial ministers would meet Mr Gilani and brief him on financial constraints of the province. “We want him (prime minister) to give us a financial package,” he added.

He said Wapda had to pay over Rs500 billion, but they were committed to honour the words of the previous provincial government, which had accepted the decision of the arbitration tribunal. The minister said Wapda had challenged the tribunal’s decision in the court and, similarly, the government had filed a case against Wapda in the Supreme Court. He said the judicial procedure was a time consuming exercise and it was their desire to solve the matter through mutual understanding and negotiations.

He said the federal government extracted oil and gas from certain Frontier areas, but it did not pay any royalty to the respective districts. The cabinet, he said, had formed a committee, headed by the NWFP chief secretary, which would prepare a case for determining five per cent royalty for the mineral-rich districts. He said the royalty would be spent on the welfare of the people and development of oil and gas producing districts.

He said another committee had been asked to prepare suggestions for the proposed Rules of Procedures for the CCI Bill, 2008, which the federal government was going to table in the National Assembly. In the past, he said, the president nominated chairman of the CCI, but it was an authoritarian practice. “We want the prime minister, who is the chief executive of the government, to act as chairman of the CCI. He should preside over CCI meetings.” The minister said the Frontier province had recommended to the federal government to include wheat into the CCI because it had become a problem for the smaller provinces. “It depends on Punjab to supply it to the smaller province or not,” he said.

He said the Adal Regulation, 1999, with some minor amendments, would be enacted in the limits of the Malakand region during Ramazan.

Answering a question, he said Nepra had not increased power tariff for the Frontier province, adding the government would expedite its efforts to seek early court verdict on the issue.