The Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) is pressing the government to include Kalabagh dam as part of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP-II), currently under preparation in Finance Ministry, official sources told Business Recorder here on Wednesday.
Rhetorically, at least, the present government appears to have shelved the project. However, Wapda officials dealing with the water sector are trying to impress the government about the important contribution this project can make to meet the energy and water needs of the country.
"Construction of additional water storage facilities is critical to save and utilise 33 million acre-feet (MAF) water which escapes below Kotri barrage annually in summer," sources quoted Wapda officials as saying in their arguments to get support for the construction of Kalabagh dam.
Pakistan, once a water surplus country with huge water resources from the Indus River System, is now a water-deficit country. The annual river flows were about 145 MAF, out of which 105 MAF were being diverted through canals for irrigation purposes and about 33 MAF was flowing to the sea. The ground water was another important resource with annual pumpage of 52 MAF for irrigation and drinking needs.
The river flows are highly seasonal, with 83.4 percent flows in Kharif and 16.6 percent during the Rabi season. The gross storage capacity is 18 MAF, which is only about 13 percent of total inflows. The lost storage capacity of major dams is estimated at 5.15 MAF up to 2008 due to sedimentation, and is expected to further decline with passage of time.
Pakistan's population is expected to rise to 221 million by the end of 2025, which would increase demand for food. The country would thus require 45 MAF additional water for agriculture purposes at canal head in order to increase food supply. The water resources available for future development are: about 33 MAF of river flows, 6.4 MAF of ground water contribution and 3 MAF of rainfall harvesting.
Wapda is of the view that establishment of an 'Authority' for regulation and distribution of river waters among the provinces and recognition of the need to construct storages for planned future agriculture developments is essential.
While the government has stated that it is its priority to construct mega reservoirs, the construction of Kalabagh dam yet remains controversial. But Wapda officials seem hopeful that, given the scale of energy and irrigation shortfalls, a consensus may be developed to start construction of this dam.
In order to meet the growing demand for irrigation and power, the Cabinet in its meeting on January 17, 2006 had decided to construct five large dams. Had the decision been implemented by the target date, an addition of 17.8 MAF water and 9,373 MW electricity would have been visible.
Unfortunately, progress on construction of five large dams has not been satisfactory. Preliminary activities on Diamer-Basha dam have started, and land acquisition plan was approved by the CDWP on September 18, 2008--two years after the decision taken by the Cabinet to construct five large dams.
The issue is also being taken up by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) in its meeting on Thursday. According to sources, Wapda is not being given sufficient funds to enable it to pay the Consultants.
The biggest hindrance in the implementation would be accessing $8.5 billion, for which no significant headway has been made despite several meetings of the task force, constituted for the purpose, in the Finance Division. The National Economic Council (NEC), headed by the Prime Minister, had allocated Rs 500 million for the Diamer-Basha Dam in 2008-09 budget. Work on the dam is expected to commence after international bidding.
Sources said that progress on other dams was too slow, and the preliminary work on the Kurram-Tangi dam has resumed and land surveys and demarcation etc are underway after a long delay due to law and order situation and the NWFP demand to raise its height to enable storage of 1.20 MAF water.
Sources said that water situation in the country for agriculture and other usage is deteriorating with every passing day. Water availability of 5000 cubic metres per head at the time of partition has come down to less than 1100 cubic metres per head, and if this situation continued unabated, Pakistan would be categorised as a water-deficient country.
"Construction of five dams and other storage projects will add 20 MAF water to the system. It will also generate 25000 MW of cheaper electricity, which will help reverse the worsening water and power shortages," sources observed. According to them, global warming also requires a cascading dam system on the rivers of Indus Basin to store additional water as a result of accelerated glacier melting in the Himalayas.
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