Kalabagh Dam only with consensus: Wapda chairman

ISLAMABAD: Chairman WAPDA has said that no work on Kalabagh dam will start unless consensus is developed among the provinces, and proposed if Kalabagh dam is built, then give its operational control to Sindh province to address its reservations over use of water.

“Without consensus among the provinces, we would not initiate work on Kalabagh dam. If all the political parties develop consensus, then Kalabagh Dam must be built,” WAPDA Chairman Muzammil Hussain said while briefing Senate Standing Committee on Water. The meeting was held under the chairmanship of Senator Shamim Afridi here Wednesday.

He expressed concerns over less water storage capacity which led to water crisis in Pakistan. Hussain said that Pakistan had storage capacity of water for only 30 days whereas India had water storage for 170 days.

Senator Gianchand said that as there is no consensus on Kalabagh Dam, so it should not be discussed further. Senator Quratulain Murri said that the Council of Common Interests (CCI) had already abolished the Kalabagh Dam project. Senator Sabir Shah said that the real story of the Kalabagh Dam must be told to the nation and also regarding its negative impacts if any.

Regarding Bhasah, he said that that GB and KP are not cooperating and despite the land acquisition they are unable to start work in the region. He said that there are difficulties in initiation of work on Diamer-Bhasha dam, as the land is distributed between Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, adding the owners of the land are creating problems.

“As we start work on the project, people do fire at us due to which so far a dozen of us have been killed,” he said. So far Rs80 billion has been spent on this project. He said that the plan for relocating the people was wrong that was made in 2006. “We have given proposals for rehabilitation of people, but so far they have not been accepted,” he said.

The committee it was informed that any country that has 1000 cubic meter water available per capita is categorised in water scarce countries and per capita water availability in Pakistan at present in 903 cubic meters. This average per capita water availability was around 5000 cubic meters back in 1951.

The committee was told that out of 35,409 Million Acre Feet (MAF) reservoirs in the whole world, 1,577 MAF are in South Asia and only 145 MAF in Pakistan. Chairman Wapda in his briefing said that 25-35% of water comes from rains and 65-75% from glaciers in the northern parts.

He observed that 60% of population is directly engaged in agriculture and livestock and despite being included in 15 most water scarce countries, Pakistan has one of the most water intensive agriculture with fourth highest use of water rate. He said 90% of country’s water is used in agriculture and the need of the hour is to take this matter up in the Council of Common Interests as to how overuse of water in irrigation can be reduced and use the same for domestic needs.

He proposed that cultivation of sugarcane must be discouraged for being most water consuming crop. Various bigwigs have sugar mills, but this crops cultivation should be reduced as they are more water consuming, he added.

The chairman Wapda while giving an analysis of water reservoirs told the meeting that Pakistan has a total of 155 dams against 5102 dams of India. He remarked that Pakistan needs to narrow the huge gap between the growing population and its needs and the number and capacity of water reservoirs.

Talking about the Indus Cascade, he termed it the most precious asset for the country. He told that the Indus enters Pakistan at an altitude of 8430 feet and gives us a drop of 7030 feet till kalabagh at an altitude of 1400 feet giving us multiple sites along the stretch for building reservoirs and run of the river projects.

The Committee was given an account of the projects under process by WAPDA which include kachi canal (PH-1) commissioned in September 2017, NaiGaj Dam to be completed by June 2019, Muzaffargarh& TP link Canal to be completed by June 2019 and RBOD-I and III to be completed by November 2019. RBOD-II is to be worked upon by Sindh Government and not Wapda.

The committee was given details of short-term, medium-term and long-term water reservoirs and run of the river hydro power projects to meet futuristic needs of the country. These include reservoirs and hydropower projects in Nai Gaj, Naulong, Bara, Tank Zam, Diamer Basha, Mohamand, KurramTangi II, Chiniot, Shyok, Dhudhnial, Skardu, Akhori, Rohtas and other small and big dams.

The chairman Wapda said that in Pakistan, around 50 percent irrigation water gets wasted, while in Punjab province the telemetry system has been broken and same was the case in Sindh.

He said that including Tarbela and Mangla, water storage capacity of all dams have reduced.The capacity of Tarbella has reduced by 30 percent, he added. For increasing water storage, we need to build more dams. He also mentioned that there are 0.96 million tube wells, due to which the water table has gone much down.

He said that water flow into Tarbela dam was fifty percent less two days back, but now due to snow melting on mountains in northern region, the water flow has improved. He said that due to silting, water storage capacity in Tarbela dam has reduced by 30 percent.

He said that water availability has reduced while the consumption is increasing. We are supplying water to Kachi Canal, but the Baluchistan province has not made irrigation and water distribution system.

Due to contention between Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Board (Pedo) and Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco), Chitral is not getting the required power supply and it is getting only seven megawatts of electricity.

The chairman Wapda further said that around 921 appointments have been made in National Engineering Services Pakistan (Pvt) Limited (Nespak) on political basis. Due to political appointments, Nespak has been losing its significance. “As we are facing shortage of consultants, so we have to take the services of consultants from outside the country. These types of appointments should be stopped,” he said.

He also complaint that roads are being built in all over the country, while for Bhasha dam 150 km of road has not been built so far. He said that the Indus Basin Treaty has been weakened too much, and it should be revived. Pakistan should have aggressive policy on this treaty, he said. Besides, he suggested that as the stat of Indus Water Commission is not good, “we need to improve it”. He said that Indus Basin Treaty should be incorporated in Foreign Policy.

Chairman and members of the Committee assured WAPDA and IRSA of all out support for approvals and work on any and all projects for welfare of the people.

During the meeting Balcuhistan complained against Sindh for not providing its share of water. Member IRSA Baluchistan said that there are 60 illegal water connections on Pat feeder canal.

The meeting was attended among others by Senators Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo, Dr Jahanzeb Jamaldini, Syed Sabir Shah, Qurratul Ain Marri, Agha Shahzeb Durrani, Gianchand, Syed Shibli Faraz, Chairman Irsa Ahmed Jamal, Members Irsa from all provinces and other officials.