GILGIT: The Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) has claimed that land compensation for Diamer-Bhasha Dam and household packages has been paid to those affected by the project even before dam’s construction had begun.
A spokesperson for the Diamer-Bhasha dam said Wapda had completed payment of compensation amount for 91 per cent of the required land, disbursing over Rs51 billion to the affected people.
“Legal proceedings are underway for the remaining 9pc. Compensation for buildings, markets, and infrastructure was completed in 2015. The entire process was carried out by the Diamer district administration and the Gilgit-Baltistan government,” the spokesperson added.
Besides, he said, household (Chula) package payments were made to 3,826 of the 4,102 affected families. Additionally, the verification process was ongoing through the district administration for additional applicants who submitted their claims in 2024.
However, many premises including shops and petrol pumps for which Wapda has already paid compensation have not been vacated by the occupants till date, the spokesperson said.
In response to certain allegations levelled by protesters in Diamer recently, the spokesperson clarified that Wapda launched several major socio-economic development and basic infrastructure projects under confidence-building measures to enhance the quality of life of locals. The CBMs include projects worth Rs78bn in the education and health sectors as well as infrastructure development.
The spokesperson said that Wapda gave preference to locals in hiring for the dam project, recruiting locals for positions up to grade 16. Many also work with project consultants and contractors. Currently, he explained, thousands of employees were from the project area.
A total of 298 people from Gilgit-Baltistan are working on the Diamer-Bhasha Dam (reservoir part) while 354 are employed in LA&R and security section. In total 2,120 people from GB are working with Wapda, consultants and contractors of whom 1,600 are from Diamer.
Diamer-Bhasha Dam has a gross water storage capacity of 8.1MAF to irrigate 1.23 million acres of land. Power generation capacity of the project stands at 4,500MW, with annual energy generation of 18 billion units.
Published in Dawn, February 12th, 2025
