NUST faces Rs574 million CDA penalty amid water crisis

Islamabad: The National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) is facing a serious water and wastewater crisis, with the Capital Development Authority imposing a Rs574 million penalty while a major water supply project remains incomplete and another supply was stopped due to water shortages.

The Senate Standing Committee on Science and Technology, chaired by Senator Kamil Ali Agha, reviewed the issue, examining the long running water and wastewater problems at NUST.

The committee was informed that NUST had paid Rs22 million to the CDA in 2005 for a 3 million gallons per day water pipeline from the Shah Allah Ditta Reservoir. The project has still not been completed because of encroachments and unresolved land issues.

NUST also paid another Rs18 million in 2008 for a pipeline from the H 11 reservoir. The project was planned to provide 100,000 gallons of water each day.

Following directions from the Senate committee water supply from the H 11 reservoir started at 50,000 gallons per day in January 2026. However the supply stopped in June due to water shortages.

The committee chairman expressed concern over the long delay and directed the relevant authorities to speed up the land acquisition process.

The committee also asked officials to explore the Shah Allah Ditta water source as a sustainable option for NUST and prepare a proposal for early funding from NUST’s own resources. The aim is to complete the required work within six months.

The wastewater problem is also creating concern at the university. The committee was informed that untreated wastewater from G 13 and H 13 passes through the NUST area because a Sewerage Treatment Plant has not been built.

NUST has prepared a Rs159 million PC I for the treatment plant. At the same time the CDA imposed a Rs574 million penalty on NUST for construction carried out without prior approval of the plan.

The committee recommended reviving a sub committee under Senator Afnanullah as convener to oversee earlier recommendations and examine unresolved matters involving NUST, CDA and the Federal Government Employees Housing Authority.

The committee also recommended that NUST conduct an internal review of its charter and suggest changes where needed. The Senate committee’s latest review has put the long pending water supply and wastewater problems at NUST under renewed scrutiny, with authorities directed to find faster solutions to both issues.