SC seeks expert opinion on dam fund supervision

• Issues notices to two former attorney generals, enlists amicus curiae for assistance
• Apex court moved for transfer of funds to Wapda’s accounts

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought the assistance of legal experts on whether it should continue supervising the accounts opened under its 2018 order with great fanfare to generate funds for the development of the Diamer-Bhasha and Mohmand dams.

A four-judge SC bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, decided after the hearing to issue notices to former attorney generals Khalid Jawed Khan and Anwar Mansoor, as well as amicus curiae Makhdoom Ali Khan, seeking their assistance in the matter.

The bench had taken up an application jointly moved by the federal government and Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) seeking transfer of funds from the Diamer-Bhasha and Mohmand Dams Fund — set up by the apex court and currently held by the State Bank of Pakistan — to Wapda’s accounts in the National Bank of Pakistan.

The application also pleaded that the government and Wapda, the executing utility agency of hydropower generation, should be allowed to solely and exclusively utilise the funds created for the construction of the two dams.

During the hearing, the court was informed that the funds had swelled to Rs18.6 billion of which Rs7.1bn alone was the profit earned on the collected amount.

Since the information about the funds was not updated as it was compiled last year, the Supreme Court ordered the SBP to apprise it of the exact nature of the funds with complete breakdown.

Barrister Saad Rasool, representing Wapda, told the court that the authority had been furnishing progress reports periodically. The court, however, directed that the progress report of 2023-24 be forwarded to the federal government as well as to the AGP office so that they could file concise statements if they want to.

The counsel said the funds should be released directly to Wapda, rather than going to the federal government, and also suggested that the Supreme Court’s supervision of the funds may not be the most effective approach moving forward.

Additional Attorney General (AAG) Chaudhry Aamir Rehman highlighted Article 78(2b) of the Constitution that suggests that all revenues or money received or deposited with the Supreme Court or any other court established under the authority of the federation should be form part of a Consolidated Fund to be known as the Federal Consolidated Fund.

Thus the money received or deposited with the Supreme Court, the AAG stated, should be credited to the federation’s public accounts. Therefore, the retention of the funds by the Supreme Court may not be appropriate, he said, assuring the court that the funds when transferred will exclusively be used for the construction of the dams.

In view of the financial procedures involved in the matter, the Supreme Court directed the AGP to either attend the next hearing or designate a senior officer to assist the court in the matter of transfer of the funds to the accounts of the executing agency as has been sought.

The court will resume the hearing after three weeks.

The account was opened in pursuance of the 2018 order of the Supreme Court, headed by then CJP Mian Saqib Nisar who had also deposited Rs1 million as donation in the account from his personal account.

On Sept 10, 2018, then army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa also donated over Rs1 billion towards the cause after a meeting with Justice Saqib Nisar at the Supreme Court building.

The account was established with a public appeal for generous donations, earmarked exclusively for the construction and development of the dams, and was to be administered, for the time being, under the SC orders.

The court order had also made it clear that the funds in this account would not, under any circumstance or for any reason, be diverted or utilised for any purpose other than the construction of the dams. To avoid any ambiguity, the apex court had declared that no questions would be asked by any authority or department, including tax authorities, about the source of funds donated to the account. However, the utilisation of the funds would be subject to audit as per directions of the apex court.

Published in Dawn, September 12th, 2024