A Supreme Court (SC) bench headed by Justice Gulzar Ahmed ordered the State bank of Pakistan (SBP) to remove hurdles for overseas Pakistanis donating to the Supreme Court dam fund.
Justice Gulzar asked the SBP to work with other banks as well and to remove any obstacles that prevent people from donating to the cause.
During the hearing, the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) also presented its report on the donations. They’ve invested around 12 billion rupees from donations and will expect a return on them by February 2020.
The hearing also revolved around land disputes around the dam’s construction site.
The tribes who owned the land pleaded that they were not being given the right price by the government for their land.
WAPDA’s lawyer, Saad Rasool, argued that they are not part of this dispute. It is between the government and the tribes. The government was ready to hand over the land for the dam to them.
WAPDA also pleaded that the government hasn’t released the 200 million rupees they need to get work started on the project.
In February this year, former CJ Saqib Nisar had said that the dam fund was merely being used to create awareness about the water crisis in the country and that it won't be actually used to make a dam. This was followed by outrage and a number of rumours which have not yet been clarified. The dam fund’s status remains unknown.
Justice Gulzar asked the SBP to work with other banks as well and to remove any obstacles that prevent people from donating to the cause.
During the hearing, the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) also presented its report on the donations. They’ve invested around 12 billion rupees from donations and will expect a return on them by February 2020.
The hearing also revolved around land disputes around the dam’s construction site.
The tribes who owned the land pleaded that they were not being given the right price by the government for their land.
WAPDA’s lawyer, Saad Rasool, argued that they are not part of this dispute. It is between the government and the tribes. The government was ready to hand over the land for the dam to them.
WAPDA also pleaded that the government hasn’t released the 200 million rupees they need to get work started on the project.
In February this year, former CJ Saqib Nisar had said that the dam fund was merely being used to create awareness about the water crisis in the country and that it won't be actually used to make a dam. This was followed by outrage and a number of rumours which have not yet been clarified. The dam fund’s status remains unknown.