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| April 28, 2002 | Sunday | Safar 14, 1423 |
Govt urged to review Gomal Zam dam project
PESHAWAR, April 27: The federal government and Wapda have been advised not to execute the multi-million dollar Gomal Zam Dam Project (GZDP) without carrying out environmental impact assessment and its effects on the socio-economic conditions of the area.
A survey conducted on different aspects of the GZDP has raised questions about the cost-effectiveness of the project and its ‘negative’ impact on the environment and social fabric of the area.
Carried out by the SUNGI Development Foundation and the Actionaid Pakistan, two NGOs working in the social sector, the survey concludes that the GZDP may add to the complexities involved in the water sharing between the provinces from the Indus River system.
Gomal River, on which a 437 feet high dam will be built, is one of the significant tributaries of Indus.
The dam will control all Indus water as a result of which the corresponding decrease in the flow may become another source of disputes between the provinces, says the survey report.
It further says that the project, involving an initial estimated cot of $206 million, may cease to function after some time in case Afghanistan decides to construct a water storage facility on up-stream Gomal River, originating from inside Afghanistan.
The site is situated on the Gomal River about 120km from Dera Ismail Khan. The project proposes a 437 feet high and 492 feet long dam with its reservoir involving storage capacity of 1.14 million acre feet and live storage capacity of 0.892MAF. It aims to bring 163,086 acres under irrigation and generating some 17.4MW electricity.
The survey opposed the dam, saying that “building a huge dam just for 17.4MW installed capacity is not a bright idea. As a principle, anywhere on the downstream such interventions for the purpose of irrigation could be made. Why to block the river at one point and let the water flow in the existing course and then build a barrage downstream just to divert its water into a canal? Just to produce about 10MW for some 30/40 years is a big question mark”.