ISLAMABAD, March 9: Consensus on Kalabagh Dam seems unlikely in the near future since only Punjab is interested in getting immediate approval of the project while other provinces are pursuing other priorities with regard to the future irrigation water needs of the country.
"The issue of building large dams is the most contentious since provinces have different suggestions on building large dam," Senator Nisar Memon, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Water Resources, conceded here on Tuesday while talking to journalists.
The issue has become all the more sensitive in view of the fact that the government has to arrive at a consensus to earmark budgetary allocations to commence the construction work.
"NWFP considers Kalabagh as the most controversial dam, but supports the building of Bhasha Dam or Akhori dam," Mr Memon told reporters after presiding over the meeting of the committee during which a detailed presentation was given on large dams and water situation in Pakistan by Wapda here in the Parliament House.
Flanked by MNA Sher Akbar Khan, senators Dilawar Abbas, Anisa Zeb Tahirkheli and Naseer Mengal, Mr Memon said the special committee on water resources had already visited the four provinces to get their inputs.
He said the Kalabagh dam was the top priority of only Punjab province while Akhori and Bhasha dams were second and third on its agenda. Sindh has already told that reservoirs should be built wherever feasible but if and when surplus water is available (which according to them is not available) and not at the cost of the existing agriculture, environment and society. "However, if the large dams are unavoidable, then opt for carry-over dams but the only site for a dam according to Sindh on the Indus is at Skardu having a capacity of 35 million acres feet (MAF)," Mr Memon said. While Balochistan, having a share of 9 per cent from the Indus River system, is supportive of any dam, whichever is finalized.
He said the committee had not concluded its meetings and was moving in the right direction to develop consensus recommendations on the implementation of 1991 Water accord and construction of large dams.
Mr Memon emphasized that already 3.58 MAF (23 per cent of total capacity of water storage) had been lost due to silting in the three existing dams - Tarbela (3 MAF), Chasma (0.37 MAF) and Mangla (1.13 MAF). "If large dams are not built in the near future, the reservoir capacities of these dams will further shrink to 5 MAF by the year 2010," Mr Memon said.
To clarify what 3.58 MAF or 5 MAF means, he compared the total capacity of the proposed dams like Kalabagh dam which has a water storage capacity of 6.1 MAF, Bhasha 7.3 MAF, Akhori dam 6 MAF, while Skardu and Katzarah dams will have capacities between 8 to 35 MAF respectively.
He also highlighted studies which say that the per capita availability of water has come down to 1,200 m3 in 2003 from 5,650 m3 in 1951. If dams are not built, he feared the per capita availability would further go down to 1,000 m3 - a level which according to Falcon Mark indicator will seriously hamper health and well-being of the citizens.
About the status of the dams, he said, pre-feasibility, feasibility, design and tender documents of Kalabagh dams were ready, while the pre-feasibility of Bhasha dam was completed whereas feasibility would be completed in June 2004. Its design and tender documents would be completed in another two years.
The feasibility of Akhori dam would be completed in August 2005 while Skardu and Katzarah dams were under consideration and even their boundaries were not yet defined. The parliamentary committee, which will submit its interim report in June, has asked the authorities concerned to complete studies speedily.
