Senate committee evaluates status of land acquisition for 1,200 MW solar plant

September 13, 2024 (MLN): The Senate Committee in its meeting held yesterday reviewed the current status of land acquisition for 5,000 acres intended for a 1,200 MW solar plant in Tehsil Choubara, District Layyah.

Deputy Commissioner for Layyah, Ameera Baidar, informed that land prices in Choubara Tehsil have increased manifold due to the recent increase in solar tube wells.

Senator QuratulAin Marri remarked that the price mentioned by the District Administration is twice as high as the price evaluated by the committee.

The Deputy Commissioner pointed out that the forest land is also located in the region that is more suitable for the solar project and mentioned that the District Administration has also proposed the said forest land to the Secretary of Settlement (Punjab) for the allotment of land.

The Committee recommended that forest land should be utilized for the 1,200 MW solar project as it would save the exchequer money.

The main agenda of the meeting was to deliberate on the socio-economic objectives of the 13th Five Year Plan (2024-29).

Joint Chief of Economic Policy, Zafar ul Hassan, highlighted the challenges shortlisted for the 13th Five year’s plan. Senator QuratulAin Marri astonishingly remarked that the Planning Division should focus on the biggest of all challenges i.e. “Population Control” which is not mentioned in the list.

She stated that no country could achieve sustainable development with a population growth rate of 2.5%.

It is high time that the country should devise a comprehensive plan to mitigate the trickle-down effect of population explosion.

Joint Chief of Economic Policy also highlighted the objectives for the 13th Five-year plan.

He emphasized that the Federal Government has set objectives of improving the quality of human capital, preventing hunger and malnutrition, enhancing the use of technology, and making agriculture more productive and efficient.

The Chairperson of the Committee asserted that the country should also empathize and facilitate the “Services Sector,” following the example of Bangalore, India, as the demand for services is increasing manifold.

Zafar ul Hassan remarked that the balance of payments poses constraints towards the expansion of the services economy.

Additionally, the Committee was briefed on the working and performance of the National Logistics Corporation and the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.

The Committee, however, recommended that the NLC officials submit details of audit paras reflected in their accounts over the last ten years, along with details of any theft and recoveries during the past ten years.

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