LAHORE, Aug 17: The Lahore High Court chief justice on Friday granted another opportunity to the federal government to file its reply to a petition seeking construction of Kalabagh dam to end power crisis in the country.

No one appeared in court to represent the government and the chief justice had to adjourn the hearing.

The chief justice remarked that the federal government should take the issue to the Council of Common Interests so that differences among the provinces on the construction of the KBD could be removed. He directed the government to come up with its reply on Aug 30.

On last hearing, the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) had informed the court that except Punjab, all provinces had objections to the construction of the KBD. It said the objections of the provinces were baseless and based on a lack of information.

Wapda further said the provinces were told that construction of KBD was vital and it could be constructed within six years.

Advocate Syed Feroze Shah Gilani had filed the petition and stated that former caretaker chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Shamsul Mulk in a statement said the KBD was not an issue of Punjab alone but a matter of the country’s survival that was at stake due to fast depleting water resources.

The petitioner said the KPK suffered the most due to delay in construction of the KBD as even after completion of Bhasha Dam the province would continue to be deprived of additional water because it would be 50 feet below D.I Khan where 800,000 acres of available agricultural land could not be irrigated economically.

Advocate Gilani said if the KBD was built water would be available for vast area of land in the KPK at affordable price.

postingS: The Lahore High Court chief justice on Friday placed services of four district and sessions judges at the disposal of the Punjab government and posted them as presiding officers of different courts.

Malik Azharul Haq has been posted as Accountability Court No IV judge, Lahore, Maqsood Ahmad Sulehri as presiding officer of the Punjab Labour Court No III, Lahore, in Ferozewala, Shabbir Husain at the Punjab Labour Court No VIII, Bahawalpur, and Khwaja Hassan Wali as presiding officer of the District Consumer Court, Lahore.