Humayun Khan
PESHAWAR: A divisional bench of Peshawar High Court (PHC) comprising Justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Shahid Khan forwarded petitions filed against the increase in electricity rates and taxes included in bills to National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA), on Wednesday.
During the hearing, Justice Syed Arshad Ali remarked that it is not possible for us to issue orders for the entire country. Regarding taxes, what you demand is NEPRA’s job. You should file complaints with NEPRA regarding what you want, and they will hear you. This is all NEPRA’s job. Why do you want us to do it? The Lahore High Court’s decision in a case was overturned by the Supreme Court and sent to NEPRA, Justice Arshad Ali observes.
The counsel Amin ur Rehman and Bilal advocates, NEPRA’s lawyer Farooq Afridi, Additional Attorney General Sana Ullah, and Federal Board of Revenue lawyer Rahman Ullah appeared before the court during the hearing.
The lawyer Amin ur Rehman told the court that people are being overcharged in the name of taxes in electricity bills. The electricity bill is not as much as the taxes included in it.
The counsel added that the slabs made in the bills according to the units used are an excess on the people. Excessive taxes are being collected from the people in the name of electricity bills. Our province generates the most electricity.
However, Justice Syed Arshad Ali addressed the petitioner’s lawyer, saying, “You have filed a petition on behalf of all residents, which is not possible. There would be millions of petitions. How can we issue orders for the entire country? You should file a petition on behalf of one or two people. Regarding taxes, what you demand is NEPRA’s job. You should file complaints with NEPRA regarding what you want, and they will hear you. This is all NEPRA’s job. Why do you want us to do it? PHC observed.
Court grants status quo against termination of Attala dam project: A divisional bench of Peshawar High Court (PHC) comprising Justice Arshad Ali and Justice Shahid Khan has issued status quo against the provincial government’s decision to terminate the Attala Dam project in Swabi, which was being constructed at a cost of Rs2200 million, and stopped the banks from releasing guarantees to the contractors, on Wednesday.
The counsel Kashif Naseem advocate informed the court that the previous Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government had initiated the Attala Dam project to provide clean drinking water to the people of Swabi’s remote area of Attala, so that the water needs of 50 villages in the area could be met.
Initially, the project was estimated to cost Rs. 1500 million, but due to the increase in prices, the Irrigation Department itself increased the cost of the project to Rs. 2.2 billion, and so far, Rs. 200 million has been spent on the project, the lawyer stated. The lawyer argued that various landowners had filed petitions against the project, which were dismissed. The High Court had ordered the continuation of the project, but after the change of government, obstacles were created to stop the project in various ways.
The contractors were directed to return the mobilization amount spent, otherwise, their guarantees would be en-cashed from the banks. He said that the project was approved by the PDWP, but the current government did not seek approval from the PDWP for its cancellation. Instead, some engineers were appointed to prepare recommendations to terminate the project, the counsel contends. In this regard, the Peshawar High Court had issued orders to review the project, but the government formed a committee, and the Technical Committee submitted its report to the provincial government, stating that there was no alternative to this project and that 60,000 people faced a severe problem of clean drinking water. However, the government ignored the committee’s recommendations and decided to terminate the project in a meeting on 29th July, 2024.
The Director Dam North directed the concerned contractors to pay the remaining amount of mobilization, otherwise, their bank guarantees would be en-cashed. He told the court that on one hand, the provincial government is taking actions that create problems for the people, and on the other hand, it is stopping a project that was already approved, which is not correct.
The lawyer said that this project was approved eight years ago with the approval of the provincial cabinet and the Chief Minister, and now a few bureaucrats cannot terminate this project in any way because cabinet and Chief Minister’s approval is required for it. Along with this, the demand for return of mobilization charges is also not correct.
The counsel requested the court to stop the termination of the project by the provincial government and to continue the clean drinking water project for the area with a population of 60,000. PHC stopped the implementation of the provincial government’s decisions dated July 29, 2024, and restrained the banks from en-cashing the guarantees of the contractors, and sought a response from the government.
