UmarJustice
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LAHORE: The Lahore High Court recently told the federal government to initiate the necessary process for the construction of the Kalabagh Dam in accordance with a decision of the Council of Common Interests (CCI) taken a few years back. A number of newspaper articles and editorials have analysed the issues in a superficial manner and reached the conclusion that is quite off the mark and was obviously meant to please political elements in Sindh and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P).
The resolutions passed by the provincial assemblies in this regard may have political significance but carry no legal force. The CCI, which is competent to take a decision in such matters under the Constitution, had decided in favour of construction of the dam. The LHCs decision is, therefore, fine on legal grounds.
The CCI can possibly reverse its decision but before that is done, there is a need to dispassionately consider the advantages of the project for the national economy and the real apprehensions of Sindh and K-P. The project is considered by experts to be very beneficial, especially from the point of view of augmenting the countrys hydroelectric generation capacity.
In fact, even before independence, the site was identified as a suitable one for harnessing the potential of the Indus. Expensive feasibility studies were undertaken by Wapda and millions of dollars were spent on international experts analysing the projects feasibility. Having been found technically sound and been approved by the World Bank for financing, the project started facing political opposition from some provincial interests that gained strength because of dilly-dallying by various regimes.
In the face of perennial power cuts, which is hampering our industrial growth, the Kalabagh Dam can prove to be a blessing for the entire nation. In fact, one expert who has consistently supported the project is Shamsul Mulk, who belongs to K-P and was chairman of Wapda. He is on record having said that if constructed, the dam would be beneficial for both K-P and Sindh.
With revised specifications, the project is not expected to submerge Nowshera even in the worst-case scenario. It is not possible to correctly estimate the number of people that would be displaced in K-P by the project but the highest estimate is about 30,000 which is not a small number. Keeping in view the existing plight of those who were displaced by the Mangla and Tarbela dams, this is an important matter but here, too, if the will is shown to provide people with compensation and rehabilitation, the project could be initiated.
As far as Sindhs apprehension that the water availability for it would be reduced after the dams construction, it may be argued that the dam would, in fact, prevent millions of acre-feet of water from going to waste during the rainy season.
The real apprehension has to do with issues of trust and Sindh may not feel comfortable with the flow of the Indus in Punjabs hands. This fear is understandable. Even in India, there are such disputes between provinces sharing rivers. The solution to the problem of any future possibility of Punjab being able to interfere with Sindhs share of water could be to declare the project land as federal territory and vesting the operation of the dam with IRSA. The royalty on power generation that is thus collected can be collected and distributed in accordance with the most recent National Finance Commission award.
Ross Masud
A case for building the Kalabagh Dam – The Express Tribune
The resolutions passed by the provincial assemblies in this regard may have political significance but carry no legal force. The CCI, which is competent to take a decision in such matters under the Constitution, had decided in favour of construction of the dam. The LHCs decision is, therefore, fine on legal grounds.
The CCI can possibly reverse its decision but before that is done, there is a need to dispassionately consider the advantages of the project for the national economy and the real apprehensions of Sindh and K-P. The project is considered by experts to be very beneficial, especially from the point of view of augmenting the countrys hydroelectric generation capacity.
In fact, even before independence, the site was identified as a suitable one for harnessing the potential of the Indus. Expensive feasibility studies were undertaken by Wapda and millions of dollars were spent on international experts analysing the projects feasibility. Having been found technically sound and been approved by the World Bank for financing, the project started facing political opposition from some provincial interests that gained strength because of dilly-dallying by various regimes.
In the face of perennial power cuts, which is hampering our industrial growth, the Kalabagh Dam can prove to be a blessing for the entire nation. In fact, one expert who has consistently supported the project is Shamsul Mulk, who belongs to K-P and was chairman of Wapda. He is on record having said that if constructed, the dam would be beneficial for both K-P and Sindh.
With revised specifications, the project is not expected to submerge Nowshera even in the worst-case scenario. It is not possible to correctly estimate the number of people that would be displaced in K-P by the project but the highest estimate is about 30,000 which is not a small number. Keeping in view the existing plight of those who were displaced by the Mangla and Tarbela dams, this is an important matter but here, too, if the will is shown to provide people with compensation and rehabilitation, the project could be initiated.
As far as Sindhs apprehension that the water availability for it would be reduced after the dams construction, it may be argued that the dam would, in fact, prevent millions of acre-feet of water from going to waste during the rainy season.
The real apprehension has to do with issues of trust and Sindh may not feel comfortable with the flow of the Indus in Punjabs hands. This fear is understandable. Even in India, there are such disputes between provinces sharing rivers. The solution to the problem of any future possibility of Punjab being able to interfere with Sindhs share of water could be to declare the project land as federal territory and vesting the operation of the dam with IRSA. The royalty on power generation that is thus collected can be collected and distributed in accordance with the most recent National Finance Commission award.
Ross Masud
A case for building the Kalabagh Dam – The Express Tribune
