Country needs mega dams

Under Wapda's Vision 2025 programme, 769 megawatts of electricity was to be added to the national grid by 2010, although the focus has since seems to have been shifted to thermal generation, with almost all hydel projects unveiled under the Vision Programme remaining behind schedule. And going by the speed of project execution in Pakistan so far, it seems highly unlikely that the completion schedule will be met.
One of the major causes of delay in implementation of hydropower schemes is said to be the mixing up of big multi-purpose reservoir dams with "run-of-the-river" dams. The distinction is believed to have been deliberately fomented to delay hydropower projects. We prioritised Kalabagh, Basha and Akhori dams which fell a prey to inter-provincial political wrangling, at the cost of "run-of-the-river projects.
At times Kalabagh seems to have been used as a red herring. One of the reasons why Pakistan's hydropower sector has not developed as fast as thermal sector is the lop-sided prioritisation of projects, seemingly under internal and external pressure. It seems that outside pressure in project formulation and execution in India has not been as great as in our country.
The induction of IPPs in the mid-1990s, supposedly as a purely stopgap arrangement, and later of RPPs, has been instrumental in multiplying the cost of production in Pakistan. This has also fuelled inflation. India, on the other hand, has prudently harnessed its hydropower potential, and built strategically located water and power projects to promote its industrial and agricultural production.
There is a need to initiate fast-track water and power projects so that Pakistan's economy can be put on an even keel. For this the government will have to tune up its implementation machinery. The super flood has wrought massive infrastructure destruction and human dislocation. With the onset of winter the plight of IDPs has become pathetic.
The government must start reconstruction and rehabilitation work to start economic activity in the affected areas. As energy fuels economy, it must harness all available indigenous resources. Above all, the government needs to prioritise multi-purpose and smaller dams, in keeping with the modern trend. The impact on ecology has become a critical environmental issue. Even otherwise, with the progressive scarcity of water, it won't be advisable to prioritize larger dams.
One of the objections raised with regard to Kalabagh dam has been its size, which objectors maintain will submerge Nowshehra. The dams need to be made more manageable, and the focus should be on maximum utilisation of water as the time of "water wars" is not far off. Operational efficiency and economy of space should be the primary criteria. India has already hundreds of multi-purpose dams to meet needs of a thriving economy. Pakistan too needs to tap its huge hydropower, coal, wind and solar energy potential. Dr Mubarakmand's coal gasification project, although technical reservations have been voiced about it, needs to be allowed. The initiative will be worth the effort and the cost.