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| December 27, 2005 | Tuesday | Ziqa’ad 24, 1426 |
Fudged data being given to president, say experts: Kalabagh dam
ISLAMABAD, Dec 26: The Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) is providing fudged data to President Gen Pervez Musharraf on Kalabagh dam, that is technically, economically and politically unfeasible and poses a threat to the federation.
This was the near consensus of a seminar on “Kalabagh Dam: forcing or forging consensus” organised by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute here on Monday.
Engineer Imtiaz Ali Qazalbash said the dam would cost more than Rs800 billion despite the fact that it had a short life span of 20 to 30 years. He said there were many technical problems in the project, which would displace over 200,000 people in Punjab, NWFP and Sindh.
He said the government was hell-bent on the construction of the Kalabagh dam to the extent that it gave the impression as if there existed only one project. He said the people were being provided wrong information by the government that the dam would cost $6 to $7 billion.
He said the country had many other options for construction of major water reservoirs including Basha, Dasu and Bunji dams, etc.
He said Basha dam was the best option keeping in view its relatively longer life span and less economic cost.
He said according to the Wapda Vision 2025, the country needed water reservoirs but it did not mean that the solution was only Kalabagh dam. He said Wapda and the policy-makers should be a little bit innovative and explore some other options. He said since 1976 the country could not come up with major water reservoirs mainly due to sticking to the Kalabagh dam unnecessarily. He said the government should first construct less controversial dams.
Since 1977, he said, Wapda had ceased to play its role owing to which there was no balance in the thermal and hydro power generation.
Engineer Asif Ali Khan, member of the Pakistan Engineering Counsel, said Pakistan Muslim League was lobbying for a dam which was technically and economically not correct. He said Wapda was feeding fudged statistics to Gen Pervez Musharraf about the social, economic and technically repercussions of Kalabagh dam.
Citing reports of the World Bank and some other independent international consultants, Mr Khan said it would have not been a matter of great concern had the government tried to forge a consensus on the dam in case of some political hindrances. The dangerous thing is that besides technical and economic constraints the government is forcing a consensus.
He said Mardan and Nowshera would be flooded and the Peshawar valley would face water logging and siltation. He said the government was ignoring the public outcry about the project not only in NWFP but in other two provinces, which could create a 197-like scenario in the country.
He said the history of rehabilitation of people displaced due construction of dams and water canals in Pakistan showed that the government had failed to properly compensate and rehabilitate the affected people.
Besides, he said, after the refusal of the federal government to pay to the NWFP billions of rupees outstanding in the forms of electricity charges and usurping of other rights of the provinces the people were convinced that the Constitution was not everything in Pakistan.
He said the 1985 feasibility report on the Kalabagh dam had taken into account an earthquake of less than 4 on the Richter scale.
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