On briefing to the Senate Committee on Water Resources, Secretary Ministry of Water Resources Muhammad Ashraf said “If 4320MW Dasu hydel project is completed on schedule, it would be a miracle”. He urged the Standing Committee to ensure timely release of funds allocated in the Public Sector Development Program so that projects are completed in accordance with the timeline. The reason for delay in projects is due to non-release of funds. The completion of Dasu project by February 2025 is linked to availability of funds. Federal Cabinet in October 2019 approved revised land acquisition cost amounting to Rs 36.914 billion on account of revised land rates and compensation for developments made in project area. Total required amount for the project is 9,875MW. The Project Director stated that if Diamer Bhasha dam is constructed, life of Tarbela Dam will be extended by 30 more years. Diamer Bhasha is a very import project and if it is not constructed, run on the river projects like Dasu will also be silted. The committee was also given a briefing on construction of five small dams in Balochistan: Sharan Dam in Sherani, Zama Khulgi Dam, Baratkhel Cheena Dam, Urgus Dam and Kum Khurasan Dam in Killa Saifullah. The Committee decided to write to provincial government and directed the federal ministry to do the same to expedite the process of sending the projects to the federal government for approval.
