ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Water Resources on Tuesday held a thorough debate on the compensation issue of Mirani Dam flood-affected people and recommended a list, containing 1,816 Names, compiled and approved by the quarters concerned for payment in 2015.
The committee meeting, chaired by Shamim Afridi, was informed that there were about four to five lists of the affected people, prepared since 2007 after a cyclone Yemy in hit Balochistan coast on the night between June 26-27, back-flowing water from Mirani Dam in the Nihing and Kech rivers.
The worst-hit areas included union councils of Nasirabad, Nodiz and Kosh Kalat. “All the lists have conflicting facts and figures about the number of affected people and damages’ claims, which is one of the problems in the disbursement of the compensation amount,” officials from the Balochistan province informed the body.
Upon this, the committee looked into the issue in detail and unanimously approved the list of 1,816 affected people, which was endorsed by the quarters concerned for the payment.
Following which, the committee was apprised that there was binding by the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC) that the compensation would be given after damages and disbursement s’ verification through the third-party.
Unfortunately, a third-party team had visited the affected areas in 2012 but could not find the ‘visible’ damages occurred to the orchards, trees and households as the flood had washed away everything, the officials said.
After deliberating on the possibility of relaxing the ECNEC condition of third-party’s involvement, the committee called in the Secretary Planning Commission in the next meeting to find a way forward and form a provincial level third-party for the compensation payment.
Earlier, the committee took up the issue regarding the payment of royalty on account of electricity generation to the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa under the Aftab Ghulam Nabi Kazi formula.
The parliamentarians were of the view that the Kazi committee methodology, which dealt with the provinces’ share in Net Hydle Profit, should not be altered, directing the Water and Power Development Authority to give a time-frame for payment of the royalty whatsoever was pending.
The committee also expressed concern over the continued absence of Chairman WAPDA and Chief Secretary Balochistan from the meeting, issuing directives for them both to appear in next meeting without any further excuse.
Senator Sassui Palijo, on another agenda item, raised serious concerns over the increasing sea intrusion in different coastal districts of Sindh.
Around 24 acre land per day was going into the sea, which was also damaging 26 acre land per day along the coastal belt, she added.
The committee sought a detailed briefing on the issue in next meeting from WAPDA and the National Institute of Oceanography, covering the whole coastal belt in Sindh and Balochistan, besides surroundings of the main rivers.
Among others, the meeting was attended by Senators Shibli Faraz Dr Jehanzeb Jamaldini, Rana Maqbool, Hasil Khan Bizenjo, Mir Muhammad Yousaf Badini, Muhammad Usman Khan Kakar, Syed Muhammad Sabir Shah, Walid Iqbal, Mushtaq Ahmed, Sassui Palijo and Mir Kabeer Ahmed Muhammad Shahi, besides senior officials from the Ministry of Planning, Development and Reform, Ministry of Finance, the Balochistan government, National Electric Power Regulatory Authority and WAPDA.
