HARIPUR, Aug 5: The Capital Development Authority, Islamabad, and the irrigation departments of Punjab and the NWFP have failed to pay Rs272 million water charges to the Khanpur Dam Project , sources told Dawn here on Wednesday.

The sources privy to the billing and accounts affairs of the dam project told this reporter that according to a summary of total dues outstanding against the beneficiaries of the KDP, the CDA owed Rs43.608 million to the project.

Records show that the CDA had not paid its monthly bills for the last over 17 months. The Khanpur Dam authorities, the sources said, supplied 50 cusecs of municipal water daily to the CDA at the rate of Rs720 per acre-ft and its monthly bill amounted to Rs2.5 million.

The statement of outstanding/defaulted amount of the KDP showed that the Punjab irrigation department owed Rs102.817 million and the NWFP irrigation department Rs125.786 million, while the Heavy Industries Taxila has Rs100,000 dues outstanding against it.

The sources said the dam authorities had apprised the higher authorities of the situation and sought advice from the general manager of Tarbela dam in this regard. Meanwhile, the Khanpur reservoir level rose by three feet as the inflow increased due to intermittent rains in the catchment areas and upper Hazara.

Before the current spell of rains, the level was recorded at 1,923ft which had forced the joint water board of Khanpur dam and CDA to slash the irrigation outflow to both the provinces.

However, according to informed sources, the fixed share of 50 cusecs of the CDA remained unaffected as required under an Ecnec decision of 1992. The record of daily reading collected from official sources put the Wednesday water level in the reservoir at 1,926ft with an inflow of 380.229 cusecs daily and total outflow 131.71 cusecs.

The breakup of total discharge showed that the Punjab irrigation department was receiving 33 cusecs, the NWFP 21 cusecs, CDA 50 cusecs, and the Heavy Industries Taxila, Facto Cement and a military defence project, PMO, at Jolian was being supplied 4.40 cusecs daily.

In reply to a question, the source expressed the hope that the situation of water table at the reservoir would improve because of rainfall in the catchments of the dam where the inflow was on the increase.

He denied that the water supply to the CDA would be cut in case of any decrease in the level, as the joint water board of the dam and CDA authorities was bound to comply with the Ecnec directives in this regard.