The World Bank's Board of Executive Directors has agreed to investigate negative effects of the National Drainage Programme on the coastal areas of Badin district in Sindh. This was stated by Mustafa Talpur, secretary, Save Coast Action Committee, at a news conference here on Sunday. Other committee office bearers Khadim Talpur, Najma Junejo, Iqbal Hyder and Mir Mohammad Buledi were also present on the occasion.
They said that a team of the World Bank will visit Badin from 23rd March to 1st April to assess effects of the Left Bank Outfall Drainage (LBOD) project jointly funded by World Bank and Asian Development Bank in 80's to drain effluents from the upstream and dispose it off into the Arabian Sea via Tidal Link Canal.
However, they claimed that due to several technical problems, the drainage effluents rather than falling into the sea are destroying their lands and wetlands. Since 1997, the project caused problems like flooding, sea intrusion, loss of crops and agriculture land, reduction in fish catch and loss of lives.
They were of the view that instead of solving the existing problem, National Drainage Programme was under taken in 1998 to connect LBOD disposal system to further upstream bringing more effluent to coastal areas, thus aggravating the situation.
The office bearers of 'Save Coast Action Committee" said that after several protests in Sindh and Islamabad they approached the World Bank Inspection Panel to investigate policy violation by the World Bank like Environment Assessment (OD 4.1) Natural Habitat (OP 4.04) Indigenous People (OD 4.20), Involuntary Resettlement (OD 4.30) Management of Cultural Property (OPN 11.03) and Disclosure of Information (BP 17.50), and demanded compensation of the losses, restoration of the environmental system and suspension of further funding of the project.
They said that the World Bank's Board of Executive Directors has accepted their demand and it will be for the first time that a panel investigates policy violations of a World Bank-funded project in Pakistan.
The committee also announced to hold people assemblies in Badin to collect testimonies for preparing their own investigation report and called upon the World Bank to write off the loan given for the LBOD and spend this money on the restoration of coastal ecology, compensation of the losses and alternative route of the drain.
Comments
Comments are closed.