Technical body sees five big dams feasible: Consensus to be evolved
By Khaleeq Kiani
ISLAMABAD, Aug 24: The Technical Committee on Water has described as “technically feasible” at least five big dams, including Skardu-Katzara, Bhasha and Kalabagh, but it was premature to say if consensus could be achieved on construction of any one of them, official sources told Dawn.
President General Pervez Musharraf would take a final decision as to which project should be constructed first, the sources added.
He directed the chairman of the committee to submit his report to the ministry of water and power as demanded by Punjab and the NWFP and said construction of additional reservoirs was inevitable for present and future generations.
This was the gist of a meeting of members of the technical committee on water headed by their chairman ANG Abbasi with President Musharraf here on Wednesday.
When contacted, Mr Abbasi told Dawn that “the report has been finalised”. Asked if in his view the report would lead to a consensus on construction of a big dam, he said it was premature to reach this conclusion.
He said all members of the committee attended the meeting and obviously contents of the report were discussed with the president but anything relating to recommendations of the committee should come from the government.
He said he had time till August 31 but he would submit the report much before the deadline.
Mr Abbasi said he had been assigned a great responsibility on a crucial national issue and he had honestly tried to fulfil this responsibility and almost succeeded in this regard.
The sources said the report finalised by Mr Abbasi was in three volumes and also contained minutes of the meetings of the committee, including views of all the members.
The sources said Mr Abbasi took the report with him to the meeting with the president in boxes specially prepared for the purpose. However, a few members of the committee raised objections over the report and the procedure adopted in its finalisation.
The president, therefore, directed Mr Abbasi to submit the report to the ministry of water and power where it could be shared with the members of the committee before forwarding it to the president for a decision.
Secretary of Water and Power Ashfaq Mehmood and deputy chairman of Planning Commission Dr Akram Sheikh also attended the meeting.
Mr Mehmood declined to comment on the report, objections raised by the members and discussions held during the meeting.
Shamsul Mulk, the committee member from the NWFP, who had earlier raised questions over the finalisation of the report, said on being approached that he could not say anything more than the press release issued by the President House.
An official statement said that the president was updated on the working of the technical committee. It added that the report of the technical committee was in its final stages of preparation and would be presented to the ministry of water and power in the near future.
The president said it was heartening to observe that there was consensus among all members of the committee on the need for creating additional water storage facilities in the country for the benefit of all provinces. He said a decision on initiating construction of water reservoirs would be taken after the government receives the report from the committee.
The president appreciated the “tireless efforts” put in by all members of the committee on an issue of national importance. He said that the issue of water was vital not only for the present but also for future generations. The socio-economic development of the country heavily depended on the decisions taken in respect of optimum usage of water resources.
