How Diamer-Bhasha and Munda dams got consensus

New Analysis

By Khalid Mustafa

ISLAMABAD: The inside story about meetings of Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Saqib Nisar unfolds that in the last meeting held on June 27, consensus was developed on first constructing Diamer-Bhasha and Munda dams.

The Council of Common Interests (CCI) with ex-premier Shahid Khan Abbasi, while according approval to the Pakistan’s first ever National Water Policy, had also approved the construction of the said two dams with an aim to double the country’s water storage capacity.

In recent days, there has been a hike observed in particular in social media followed by electronic media in the demand for first building Kalabagh Dam keeping in view the massive water shortage in Pakistan’s big cities. Certainly, there are pockets in Pakistan which remain most of the time the victims of drought such as some areas of Sindh, South Punjab and the whole Balochistan.

No doubt Kalabgh Dam is the most viable and technically sound project if compared with other projects, but it lacks consensus.

However, in the meetings with chief justice, pro-Kalabagh dam officials at last retreated and failed to advocate for its first building knowing the fact that it is not possible to build it in the absence of acceptance from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Sindh which have already passed the resolutions in their provincial assemblies against Kalabagh dam.

Many experts in the meeting with the chief justice in the chair kept on advocating for building Kalabagh Dam first without knowing its political repercussions across the country. They went on to say that there is an Indian lobby behind Kalabgh Dam’s opposition. But it was Joint Secretary of Ministry of Water Syed Mehar Ali Shah who came up with the argument, saying: “Yes, right now there is a lobby which has emerged against building of the dams on which the consensus is developed by placing the demand of construction of Kalabagh Dam first.”

Then sanity prevailed in the meeting and personalities like Shamsul Mulk, ex-Wapda chairman, also agreed that Diamer-Bhasha and Munda dams should be built first as the country cannot afford to waste time more. Other experts from Punjab who wanted to first build KBD also agreed on the said two dams. However, it was resolved to build KBD after harnessing consensus. So, this is how the meetings held with Chief Justice Saqib Nisar have developed consensus on Diamer-Bhasha and Munda dams for which the CCI had already approved Rs1.6 trillion funding.

The meeting was told that an investment of Rs2.891 trillion in water sector is required -- Rs1.6 trillion to build Diamer-Bhasha and Munda dams, Rs800 billion for water conservation, Rs150 billion for drainage, Rs12 billion for flood control, Rs300 billion for rehabilitation of barrages, head works and canals and Rs29 billion for research purposes. And if the next government implement it, then Pakistan will be able to raise its water storage capacity to at least 28 million acre feet (MAF) from existing 14 MAF.

The government has almost acquired the land for the dam portion of Diamer-Bhasha dam and has also approved the financing plan which will be provided from the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP). For 2018-19, the government has also kept Rs30 billion for the project from PSDP.

Right now, there exists a demarcation issue between the KP and Gilgit Baltistan governments.

It is crystal clear that the World Bank has already refused to finance the project, saying it is situated in a disputed area. China initially also came up with the same version of World Bank when asked for the funding required for the project. However, later on China agreed but with the condition of having ownership rights of the project which was not acceptable for Pakistan.

Keeping in view the uphill challenge of arranging finances, it was decided to construct the dam portion from the country’s own resources through PSDP and once it was built, then the government will be in position to arrange funding for its two power houses.

Kalabgh Dam undoubtedly is more beneficial and technically very sound. Its rate of filling is much higher than that of Bhasha Dam as at the proposed site of KBD, there is a confluence of Kabul, India and Harrow rivers and more importantly this site is in the range of monsoon rains. The water from KBD will take five to six days to reach Sindh whereas it will take 12-14 days from Bhasha Dam to reach the low riparian federating unit. The cost of Bhasha Dam stands at $18 billion that is to get completed in 10 years. However, KBD requires $8 billion to be completed in just six years’ time.