Kalabagh dam has been in the news since the past 15 years but the nation has not been able to achieve a consensus on building it due to dismal political failure. The dam was provided funds for its feasibility by the World Bank and its feasibility was approved repeatedly by German as well as Chinese Consultants as one of the best sites in the World. Recently the World Bank in its annual report has endorsed its urgent construction as the failure to build it is costing the country a loss of four billion US $ in the form of closed industries alone.
The KP government is blissfully opposed to it even though it can get 14 percent share of its share of water as per 1991 Water Accord only from KBD from a right bank gravity canal to irrigate 7 lac acres of land in DIK. Sindh is destined to get 37 percent share of KBD storage even though it has only 15 percent irrigated area of Pakistan at present.
In the absence of KBD the provinces cannot get their shares of stored water which flows down to sea to the tune of 32MAF each year. The failure of political masters to realize the dire need of KBD hydroelectric dam to generate power of 3600 MW and irrigate millions of acres of virgin land has not been considered a merit in the moribund politics of smaller provinces namely KP and Sindh. The Pakistan Engineering Congress has stressed the need of the dam on technical grounds but the nation is caught up in a political logjam over the dam.
It is high time that the Apex Court of Pakistan constitutes a Judicial Commission to decide the fate of the dam which has resulted now in an existential threat to Pakistan in the wake of inordinate delay in building it. This issue is of great public importance and embraces water which is right of life as a fundamental right. The Supreme Court would be serving the public interest at the highest level if it can justly settle the issue of KBD that has been smouldering since the past several decades and has been publicly declared by the Prime Minister to be a victim of politics.
DR MUHAMMAD YAQOOB BHATTI
Lahore