LAHORE, Jan 3: Punjab Irrigation Minister Chaudhry Amer Sultan Cheema has said Pakistan will be included in the list of the countries facing water shortage if it fails to augment its water resources by building new dams by 2012.

Speaking at a seminar on Kalabagh dam at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry here on Tuesday, the minister stressed that construction of new water reservoirs was the need of the hour both for meeting irrigation requirements and survival of the industry.

New dams, he said, were necessary for generating cheap hydel power for the national industry which was finding it difficult to market its products at competitive prices in the international market because thermal power generation cost was increasing with high fuel prices.

He said the revival of the Council of Common Interests would help in taking decisions on inter-provincial subjects, including construction of dams, with provincial participation. The provinces should also exchange delegations for discussion on the issue, he suggested.

The minister said the reports of the parliamentary and technical committees constituted by the president for examining the dams’ issue had been presented in the Senate and would also be discussed in the National Assembly. The issue was also being discussed at the public platform and was expected to produce positive results.

He was of the view that the decision to construct big dams should have been taken long ago. The present regime had the capability of taking correct decisions on national issues by developing consensus, he said, adding it would definitely give a good news to the nation on the issue very soon.

Only one dam could not solve the water shortage problem as it would only overcome shortage created by silting of Mangla and Tarbela dams, he said.

LCCI President Mian Shafqat Ali said the country was facing a nine-million-acre-foot water shortfall. The existing dams were silting up and their storage capacity was expected to reduce by five MAF during the next six to seven years.

The need for construction of new dams had also been stressed in the 1991 water accord, he said, and added that a decision on the issue was required to be taken at the earliest. He said the Kalabagh dam construction should not be made a political issue and be seen in the national perspective.

Wapda Member (Power) Mushtaq Chaudhry said the claim about the unavailability of water for filling the dams was baseless, as an average 35 million acre feet of the Indus river water flowed into the sea every year in accordance with the figures provided by the Sindh government. The quantity of river water flowing into sea was 91.83 MAF whereas 80.59 MAF water went to the sea.

He said only 60 MAF water required for filling the Kalabagh dam would be taken from Indus river. The remaining 40 per cent would come from Swan river. The dam had the provision for desilting through water discharge and was expected to last for 100 years.

Kalabagh Dam Movement President Siddiq Rehan, Water Council Member Farooq Bajwa and LCCI vice-president Aftab Vohra also supported the Kalabagh dam construction. — Reporter