LAHORE - Litigation and arbitration proceedings added not only to construction cost of much-needed small dams project initiated in 2008 but also damaged the cause for which they were being built in Potohar region.
The contractor allegedly indulged the Punjab Irrigation Department (PID) in arbitration while the guilty officers got stay orders from the court, led to suspension of construction work since February 2010. Inquiry findings on defective works and overpayments declared the officers and the contractor responsible for defective construction.
As per official sources, a meeting was held on 27Th January this year to review the view point of Chief Engineer Development Zone regarding suspension of arbitration proceedings for “Construction of Tajabara Dam” till the final verdict of the court. But, the case proceedings in the court are lingering.
The committee comprising former CE Planning and Research as convener and CE Irrigation Development Zone Lahore, CE Irrigation Lahore Zone, Project Director Small Dams Organisation Islamabad and XEN Development Division Fateh Jang as members also agreed with the viewpoint of Chief Engineer Development Zone and recommended that arbitration may be suspended for the “Construction of Small Dams in District Attock i.e Tajabara, Sadrial and Shahbazpur Dams” till the final decision of the court. It also advised the department to get the case fixed for an early hearing in the court so that matter be resolved once for all and opportunities of further litigation are exhausted. While the Senior Law Officer (SLO) of the PID was of the opinion that the amount pointed out by the inquiry committee may be recovered instead of resolving the dispute through arbitration.
As per the official documents also available with this paper, the work for construction of Tajabara Dam was awarded to M/S Finco Construction & Co amounting to Rs 137.49m on March 7, 2008 with completion date as March 6, 2010. The construction activities on the dam have been suspended since February 2010 due to an inquiry on defective works and overpayments.
The administrative department constituted an inquiry committee to check the quality and quantity of executed work. The committee after visiting site submitted its report and recommended penalties against officers and officials along with recovery from the contractors and their blacklisting. Against the recommendations of the enquiry report, the guilty officers filed a petition in the Lahore High Court which is pending.
The Project Director Small Dams Organisation Islamabad further added that the contract for construction of Tajabara Dam was rescinded by the XEN Fateh Jang in 2013 as the contractor failed to restart work despite repeated notices who also then approached the Lahore High Court against the rescinded order. However, the contractor was called by the XEN Development and on his assurance to restart work, the contract was restored. The documents further tell another tale. The contractor, however, opted to invoke the Clause-65 of the contract for arbitration to resolve the disputes regarding his outstanding payments. Consequently arbitrator was nominated by CE, Irrigation Development Zone (M Tariq S.E UJC Jhelum) as well as contractor (Abdul Majeed Bhatti, Director Studies).
The arbitrator in his report submitted to the CE Irrigation Zone Lahore stated that the case is sub-judice and requested to seek advice from PID legal adviser whether to continue the arbitration proceedings or to keep pending the same so as to avoid legal complications. The SLO was of the opinion that the department should recover the amount recommended by the inquiry committee instead of resolving dispute through arbitration.
The CE Development, however, responded that the dispute and claim of the contractor also include recoverable amount as established by the committee. The PD Small Dams stated that a petition filed by one of the accused officers Afzal Anjum Toor, Ex-XEN, Small Dams Division Islamabad and the subsequent stay order granted by the court is indirectly interlinked with arbitration proceedings and recommendation of the inquiry committee for action against the accused officer as well as the contractor.
It is relevant to mention here that the accused officer declared guilty by the enquiry committee has been working on a key position in Irrigation department as he got stay orders from the court and the case is pending since then.
The committee viewed that in case of initiation of action for recovery, it would pave the way for further litigation by the affected officers and the contractor. It also opined that the decision of the arbitration committee may clash with the recommendations of the inquiry committee already challenged in the court, which can also lead to legal complication in future. On the other hand, the committee noted that since the contract has been allowed to continue by the competent authority as such the arbitration proceedings under clause 65 cannot be disposed off altogether at this stage. So, the committee recommended to suspend the arbitration proceedings for the project “Small Dams in District Attock” till the final verdict of court. The committee also advised the department to pursue to get the case fixed for an early hearing in the court so that the matter is resolved once and for all.
A senior officer told that the Irrigation department had started a project of 12 Small Dams in 2008 including Haji Shah Dam (Rawalpindi) estimated cost Rs 357m, Taja Bara (Attock) Rs 312m, Sadriyal Dam (Attock) Rs205m, Shahbazpur Dam (Attock) Rs 150m, Ugahan (Rawalpindi) Rs 509m, Dhoke Hum (Chakwal) Rs 205m, Mundi (Chakwal) Rs 82m, Dhoke Jhang Dam (Chakwal) Rs 213m, Uthwal and Lakhwal (Chakwal) Rs 449m, Pandori Dam Rs 655m, Arar Mughlan (Chakwal) Rs 829m and Chahan Dam Rawalpindi Rs 1567m. Some of the dams have been completed while others are under construction, he said, adding work on some dams was suspended due to litigation. He said that these dams if constructed on time had not only brought revolution in agriculture and livestock sectors of the Potohar region but also provide potable water to the people. The fish farming could also be developed besides improvement in underground water table.