ISLAMABAD: Expressing concerns over the eight year delay in starting the project for the construction of the Chirah Dam, members of a parliamentary committee on Tuesday directed the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to disassociate itself from the project and look for alternate water projects.

The matter was taken up in a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat, which met in parliament with its chairman, Senator Talha Mehmood presiding.

The project for the construction ofthe dam was approved in 2009 and is a joint venture of the Punjab government and the CDA, with the former being the executing agency. But so far, the concerned authorities have not even purchased landforit.

The construction of the dam was approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council with an estimated cost of Rs5.3 billion and was to be completed by 2013, according to its PC-1.

CDA documents presented before the committee say the cost was to be shared equally by the Punjab government and the CDA.

The dam was to be constructed on the Soan River near Chirah Village and was to have a capacity of 15 million gallons a day (MGD), with the water being equally shared by Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

Though there has been absolutely no development on the ground, the estimated cost of the project has increased to more than Rs18 billion,which the committee fears will further increase.

`I think this project will now cost over Rs25 billion,` Senator Mehmood said.

Senator Kalsoon Parveen said an inquiry should be held into who was responsible for acquiring land for the project.

She said land was not acquired for the construction of the dam when the required funds were available and that houses and housing schemes have been developed on the proposed site of the dam.

`We should refer the matter to the Federal Investigation Agency and ask them to look into why no steps were taken to acquire land,` Senator Mehmood said.

Referring to negligence in the project, Senator Nauman Wazir Khattak said the delay amounted to `intellectual corruption` Islamabad Mayor and CDA Chairman Sheikh Ansar Aziz and Member Planning Asad Meboob Kayani told members of the committee that there is no delay on the civic authority`s part and that it had deposited Rs851 million in two instalments in 2013 and 2014 for land acquisition. They said that the Small Dam Organisation and the Water and Sanitation Agency Rawalpindi were the executing agencies.

Small Dams chief engineer Irrigation Department Tahir Qureshi briefed the committee about the project but could not explain the delay.

When asked about the water shortage, the CDA chairman said the civic agency is working on a project for bringing water from the Indus River under the Ghazi Barotha Project and that talks are underway with World Bank for getting the initial funding.

The committee chairman replied that though this is a good initiative, it is a long term solution as it requires large sums of money.

According to CDA officials, over Rs50 billion are required for Ghazi Barotha project, under which Islamabad and Rawalpindi will be supplied 100 MGD each.

`You have to explore other solutions,` Senator Mehmood said, adding that Islamabad is facing an acute water shortage.

The committee head asked the CDA to disassociate from the Chriah Dam project and think of alternate projects.

The CDA chairman assured the committee that the authority will submit a proposal for alternate projects within six weeks.

According to the CDA`s record, Islamabad receives 75 MGD for its two million residents when it requires 211 MGD.