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ISLAMABAD: The Sindh government has asked the water task force of the Friends of Democratic Pakistan to withdraw its advice calling upon the federal government to reconsider the Kalabagh dam as a priority water sector project, saying it will open a Pandora’s box.
Informed sources said the Sindh government had conveyed its official position to the FoDP’s task force on water. As a result, a meeting has been scheduled in Karachi later this week in which the provincial government would submit its stance on Kalabagh dam in writing.
The Indus River System Authority is also reported to have warned the task force not to touch settled issues, including the 1991 water apportionment accord or the nomenclature of Irsa.
Irsa did not have any problem with creation of a new organisation for the regulation of ground water table and industrial water use if the FoDP wanted to do so, but it would need to be ensured that working of another organisation did not overlap with responsibilities and functions of Irsa, the sources said.
Both Irsa and the provincial government were of the view that a draft report prepared by the task force did not contain their true position because of their extensive engagements with flood-related activities.
A Sindh government official said the task force had been told that it had agreed with the federal government not to take up Kalabagh dam issue because it was a controversial project and hence the FoDP should not open the subject again in the interest of national unity.
“We have also warned the task force against touching Irsa,” he said, adding that any proposal on new projects would be welcomed by the provincial government.
In its draft report circulated to stakeholders for comments, the FoDP’s task force had asked the government to ‘reconsider Kalabagh dam’ as a priority water sector project and introduce constitutional amendments for cost- and benefit-sharing of new reservoirs among relevant stakeholders.
The report, a copy of which is available with Dawn, says that when Tarbela and Mangla dams were built about 50 years ago, it was expected that a new reservoir of the size of Tarbela would need to be built every 10 years to meet the challenge of water and increase the production of hydropower.
“To the eternal shame of all involved, 50 years later only two minor additions have been made — some additional hydroelectricity capacity at Ghazi Barotha and the recent raising of the Mangla dam. For decades a deadly combination of internal dissension and external prevarication precluded the building of large dams,” the report said.
The report welcomed a decision of the Council of Common Interests to develop a consensus on the Diamer-Bhasha dam following differences over Kalabagh dam, but insisted that “it is important for Pakistan to reconsider Kalabagh”.
