LAHORE, Aug 30: The federal government told the Lahore High Court on Thursday that it had been pursuing all ways and means to exploit the indigenous resources for generation of electricity, including alternate hydropower portfolio.

“The federal government and Wapda are actively pursuing hydropower projects in both public and private sectors, utilising the indigenous resources of water which is likely to enhance hydropower supply to the national grid significantly,” the ministry of water and power said this in a written reply submitted to the court with regard to hearing of a petition seeking construction of Kalabagh Dam (KBD) to end power crisis in the country.

It further said that the decision to build dams involved economic, technical, safety and environmental comparisons.

It said the Council of Common Interests (CCI) and parliament had been provided with requisite powers and functions under Article 153 and 155 of the Constitution to address and resolve the kind of issues which were being raised in the instant petition.

Therefore, there were relevant forums of Parliament and CCI available for resolution of such issues, the reply added. The ministry also urged the court to dismiss the petition.

The chief justice adjourned further hearing till Sept 13 and directed the government to apprise the court about the benefits of Kalabagh Dam project.

In this case, Wapda had already informed the court that except Punjab, all the provinces had objections to the construction of KBD. It said the objections of the provinces were baseless and based on lack of information. The Wapda further said the provinces were told that construction of KBD was vital and it could be constructed within six years.

Advocate Syed Feroz Shah Gilani had filed the petition and stated that former caretaker chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwan and Wapda ex-chairman Shamsul Mulk in a statement said KBD was not an issue of Punjab alone but a matter of the country’s survival that was at stake due to fast depleting water resources.

The petitioner said the KP suffered the most due to delay in construction of KBD as even after completion of Bhasha Dam the province would continue to be deprived of additional water because it would be 50 feet below D.I Khan where 800,000 acres of available agricultural land could not be irrigated economically.

Advocate Gillani said if KBD was built water would be available for a vast area of land in the KP at affordable price.

He said the government should ask CCI to remove differences and problems among the provinces and the provinces and the federation.