One-member commission to probe Nandipur project

ISLAMABAD: A one-member Commission comprising Justice (R) Nasir Aslam Zahid would probe into the controversial Nandipur Project that eventually stopped its power production in the recent past, raising eyebrows of many who pointed out irregularities and administrative lapses for failure of this 525MW multi-billion project.
According to the official sources, the government has decided first to conduct an independent probe into the failure of Nandipur Project then make it operational before its privatisation through an open bid process.
A Judicial Commission headed by a former reputed senior judge in the past in its report had already pointed out Rs130 billion loss to the national exchequer because of alleged sabotage by the PPP’s minister.
Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal during his press conference in the recent past alleged that Nandipur Project was initiated in 2009 and one of the ministers of the PPP-led government had kept its file in his drawer for ulterior motives for over one year.
The sources said that the Commission constituted on the directives of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif would focus on basic issues including failure of Nandipur Project to achieve desired results despite successful start, measures taken by the previous regime and identification of the officials who are responsible for failure of multi-billion project.
It is pertinent to mention here that the prime minister has already ordered two separate audits of Nandipur Project, one by an international firm and other by the Auditor General of Pakistan, to ascertain the reasons and identify the officials responsible for failure in this regard.
Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Asif also pointed out an inquiry process initiated by National Accountability Bureau (NAB) stating he gave his statement to an official of NAB regarding Nandipur Project.
The sources said the premier has strictly ordered the concerned authorities to operationalise Nandipur Power Project at any cost and then transfer its ownership to the private sector through a transparent process. They said the Commission would review the relevant official record, obtain statements from high ups of the current and previous regimes and submit its report to the prime minister.
Minister for Information and Broadcasting Pervaiz Rashid told this correspondent few days back that “The government will definitely operationalise Nandipur Power Project to prove that it has the ability to run it.
We will also conduct high level inquiry and ascertain the reasons for failure of the project. Those responsible for its failure will not be spared.”