The Asian Development Bank (ADB) funded 'FATA Rural Development Project' of $42 million is in doldrums due to some reservations by the Governor's Secretariat-FATA regarding design and details of the project. This was a soft loan project from the bank's Asian Development Fund (ADF), and its objectives were to contribute to the efforts being made for reducing incidence of poverty among the rural population by increasing income and employment opportunities through a mix of economic and social intervention in three poverty stricken northern agencies of Bajawar, Mohmand and Khyber.
Well-placed sources told Business Recorder on Monday the project PC-I was still lying pending with the Bank.
According to the sources, there was no green signal for initiation of the project from the governors secretariat side but Economic Affair Division (EAD) was in full contact with the FATA authority to level ground for its implementation.
Few months back, the bank informed the issues relating to the project had been settled and thus the EAD could prepare for loan negotiation, but during the ADB's mission visit differences on the project design emerged.
Sources said those contentious issues included construction of nine small dams, for which the FATA Secretariat asked the bank to keep the height of the dams up to 100 feet. Local authorities made it clear if the dams of 100 feet were not included in the project, the loan would not be of any use.
According to International Commission on Dams (ICD), the reservoirs up to 15-meter height were classified under the large dams and less than 15 meters under the small dams.
Economic Affair Division (EAD) has also informed the FATA Secretariat about the instruction of Ministry of Water and Power the dams of 100 feet did not fall in definition of small dams.
However, ADB had assured in order to accommodate the request for large dams in FATA, feasibility of such dams could be carried out from the water sector infrastructure development component, Technical Assistance (TA) loan included in the pipeline for 2005 and 2006.
The sources said the Bank indicated there was need to determine whether or not ADB's indigenous peoples' Policy (IP) was applicable in that project. The Aide Memoir also stated a social survey needed to be undertaken to determine the applicability of that policy, sources added.
They said ADB clarified it was a purely technical exercise and did not imply any pre-conceived notions on the part of ADB as to the status of people living in FATA.
But on the other side, the Secretary FATA and Governor's Secretariat termed this exercise as wastage of time and conveyed that they would not allow ADB to carry out the studies and surveys, they said.
ADB also wanted to carry out a study on the environmental impacts of the project, as it was part of the Bank's procedure but FATA Secretariat has opposed and termed it unnecessary.
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