Leader of the Opposition in the Senate and PPP senior leader Senator Aitzaz Ahsan on Wednesday called for a criminal trial and an investigation by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) of alleged corruption and irregularities in the Nandipur power project.
Speaking during debate on an adjournment motion in the Senate today, Aitzaz said that accusations against the federal government were very serious.
“This project is not a technical matter but a matter of corruption. There is no way to escape it,” he said.
The senior PPP leader said that the ‘mega-scandal’ should be thoroughly investigated.
“We have suggested that the Nandipur project be investigated by the National Accountability Bureau,” he said.
Federal minister for Water and Power Khawaja Asif responding to Aitzaz Ahsan said that the ruling party is ready for any kind of probe regarding Nandipur power project.
He said that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) should not be blamed in the matter as PC-1 was prepared before it came into power. He said that it had been at least 35 percent completed by the time PML-N took over.
Asif said that PML-N neither granted contracts nor auctioned in the matter. However, he said that the plant had to be halted due to cost ineffectiveness as it ran on diesel. He said that the plant was supposed to function on furnace oil whereas the contractor mistakenly established largely on diesel.
The federal minister said that the government has now directed to build a unit of required size that functions on furnace oil. He also said that the plant had three stages of completion that should be taken into consideration. Former prime minister (PM) Shaukat Aziz and former president Pervez Musharraf worked on the project.
In the five-year tenure of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Nandipur power project was shelved, he added. Asif said that halt to the project for five years resulted in humongous increase in its manufacturing cost.
Senator Aitzaz Ahsan criticised the government for an “unsuccessful” venture that cost the country billions. He called for a probe of the controversial plant under criminal law.
Senator Mohsin Aziz said that the government spent billions over the project while not a single Mega Watt (MW) electricity was produced. He said that Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Shahbaz Sharif did not come true to their promises. He said that the government could not manage the fuel cost after its extravagant inauguration.
He urged the government not to spend more funds on the project. Senator Aziz further denounced recommendations of Nandipur power plant’s audit and called for a probe instead.
Funny!!!. The first to go down will be PPP, aitazaz tends to forget that the added cost and heavy repairs are due to his own party letting vital plant components rot away in the port.
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