Verdict on KB dam

Yes, but not in this way

There is a shortage of water, yes. The country badly needs power, yes.

But in order to be able to make use of the required quantity of water and electricity, the country has to remain intact. This should be priority number one. The rest come later. As things stand, the federation is badly divided over the KB dam issue. This explains why two powerful military rulers who were keen to build the dam shrank back on seeing the abyss. The PML-N which was the biggest supporter of the mega reservoir failed to move one inch towards its cherished goal during its two tenures after it had tested the waters. Neither the generals nor politicians were sure the country could be kept together if the decision was enforced in disregard of the opposition from three provinces.

Consensus. Only a government which is equally popular in all the four provinces and is able to address their reservations can hope to create a consensus over the KB dam. The mainstream parties have now realised this. So has the media, and the public at large in Punjab who, after the traumatic separation of East Pakistan, are wiser than before. This explains why there was no spontaneous outburst of applause for the court’s verdict from any significant quarter in Punjab or from any major political party. Consensus first is the refrain of their cautious statements.

There are interim measures that should have been taken to cope with water and power shortages. A big percentage of water is wasted because the water courses are not lined and cemented. Another big percentage is lost because of wasteful irrigation practices. Why can’t governments encourage, support and popularise drip irrigation saving over 50 percent of water? The failure by the government to pay the remaining amount of Rs 80 billion circular debt stands in the way of activating the full generation capacity of the system. System losses at about 20 percent combined with theft have to be plugged.

The courts have to realise their limitations. There are things that they simply cannot get implemented. There are issues that the courts are not qualified enough to understand. They need to tell the plaintiffs in such cases that these are beyond their jurisdiction. Constitutional fundamentalism or the belief that the constitution contains the solution of every ill in Pakistan is both unrealistic and harmful. No constitutional provision can remedy shortages, put an end to traffic jams or bring down the domestic price of a commodity if it is fetching higher price in international market. The verdict by Lahore High Court would further strengthen the prevailing apprehensions and suspicions in smaller provinces and is likely to make the task of consensus building more difficult.