ISLAMABAD – The Senate Standing Committee on Water and Power was informed Monday that India was taking advantage of the flaws in the Indus Water Treaty (IWT) to build dams on the rivers allotted to Pakistan under the deal. The representatives of the Ministry of Water and Power told the committee that they were keeping an eye on the India’s designs to build dams on the Chenab River while steps were under consideration to curtail the violations of the treaty.
The committee, which held a meeting with Senator Nawabzada Mir Haji Lashkari Raisani in the chair, was briefed on the progress made in the Munda Dam project after its construction was halted as a result of a stay order. The Senate body asked the government to formulate a policy for constructing water reservoirs to expedite the progress, as the project, approved in 2000, is still under construction.
The senators noted if the dam was completed the last year’s devastating floods could not have played havoc in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Secretary Water and Power Javed Iqbal assured the committee of making efforts for timely completion the dam and said the project was with WAPDA and a detailed engineering design was issued in February 2011. The dam located on Swat River in Mohmand Agency will generate 740 MW electricity and help mitigating the threat of floods besides bringing about 23000 acres of land under cultivation.
