Pakistan provinces unable to pay Dam management dues

A parliamentary panel on Wednesday asked the Sindh and Balochistan governments to clear massive dues to the Hub Dam management, reported Dawn.

According to the Pakistani publication, a meeting of the National Assembly's Standing Committee on Water Resources, presided over by Nawab Mohammad Yousaf Talpur, was informed by the water resources ministry that Hub Dam was built by the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) in 1981 and it was decided that 66.67 per cent of the construction cost would be paid by the Sindh government and 33.33 per cent by the Balochistan government.

Since then Sindh and Balochistan have not paid their dues. The water of the Hub Dam was provided to both Sindh and Balochistan according to 1:2 ratio, but the two provinces were not paying water costs to the administration of Hub Dam. 

It delayed the repair and maintenance work of the Hub Dam. The dues against Sindh stood at Rs 1.211bn while Rs 541.525 million was payable by Balochistan. 

The committee was informed that both provinces should clear their dues to the dam as Hub Dam is situated in the coastal area and any cyclone or hard weather conditions could cause damage to it. So, it is necessary that both provinces clear their dues to the Hub Dam to let authorities begin necessary repair and maintenance of it.