ISLAMABAD: Secretary Cabinet Division has told Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that former chairman WAPDA Gen (Retd) Zulfiqar and former chairman NAB Saifur Rehman changed tariff by harassing Japan Power Generation Company (JPGC) causing widespread loss to the tune of Rs 5.47 billion to national kitty.
The PAC unanimously directed Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) to probe into this scandal on its own, fix the responsibility and inform PAC about them so that action could be initiated against the persons found responsible. PAC met here Tuesday under its chairman Syed Khurshid Shah to review audit objections in respect of accounts of cabinet division for the year 2016-17.
Secretary Cabinet division Ammar Masood told the committee Japanese company GPGL was harassed to change the tariff. US companies refused to change the tariff but Japanese company changed it. Chairman PAC reprimanded additional secretary ministry of power when the latter tried to present wrong facts saying the officers should not misguide us.
PAC was told that decision has been given against Japanese company in International court of arbitration but WAPDA has failed to recover Rs 79 million so far. The committee was told that during the second stint of Nawaz Sharif in power, the other companies were harassed to force them to shut down the power plants . These factories were set up during the second regime of Benazir Bhutto so that loadshedding could be eliminated from the country.
Nawaz led government closed down these power factories forcibly so that the contracts could be awarded to new companies. However US companies rejected Nawaz Sharif government pressure. PAC said NEPRA had failed to discharge their obligations.
The meeting was attended by Navid Qamar, Dr Azra Palejo, Mushahid Hussain Syed,senator Azam Swati, Sheikh Rohail Asghar MNA, Chaudhry Pervez Elahi and Shafqat Mehmood. Companies was pressurized that tariff be reduced considerably. Audit told the PAC that KEPCO plants were run on gas and furnace oil and huge loss of Rs 3.4 billion was inflicted on national exchequer.
Chairman NEPRA told the PAC that Nandi Pur Power plant is running on gas and 517 megawat power is being generated daily. PAC directed that power plants be run on inexpensive fuel and inexpensive electricity b e generated. NEPRA said system has capacity to generate electricity and this way there will be no load shedding.
