Say “no” to Kalabagh Dam

Ahsan Fraz Gondal

19110110

Mehr Munir

Writing and Communication SS-100

March 9, 2016

Say “No” to Kalabagh Dam

“Freshwater species have lost 70% of their species since 1970,” says a report by International Rivers. Damming the rivers is the most important factor along with the other factors for this destruction (Bosshard). “Is there any environmental cost of building dams?” “Is building a large dam the best way to produce electricity?” “Is it economical to build a dam?” These were the questions that have become prominent by the end of 20th century. Since that time people started opposing big dams because of their detrimental effects. Kalabagh Dam was one of them. It has come up as one of the most controversial water problems of Pakistan. Kalabagh Dam was proposed to meet the electricity shortfall of Pakistan because, after its construction, it would be capable of storing 6.1 million acre-feet (MAF) of water and generating 3600 megawatts of electricity (Bhatti 242). After the idea had been proposed, people from different provinces of Pakistan started protesting against it because of its harmful impacts.  Although Kalabagh Dam may help Pakistan to overcome its energy shortfall, it should not be built because of the political, environmental and socio-economic consequences it will have.

Kalabagh Dam is a serious threat to the political stability of Pakistan. There is no consensus on this issue between the provinces of Pakistan. The State of Punjab is supporting its construction because it will help them in overcoming their energy crisis and improving their irrigation system. On the other hand, the provincial assemblies of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Balochistan have repeatedly passed unanimous resolutions against it. The basic concern of these provinces is the location of the dam in Punjab because these three provinces are not willing to let Punjab take control of their water. Moreover, by building Kalabagh Dam, agriculture yield of the provinces like Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh will be badly affected because the Dam will stop water from the river in the upstream. People of these provinces mostly depend on agriculture for their living. Construction of this dam will cause a shortage of food in these areas because all of their crops depends upon the Indus water. That is why the Awami National Party’s president Asfandyar Wali Khan has said that the construction of Kalabagh dam will not be allowed at any cost because it will turn the land of Pakhtunkhwa infertile (Kalabagh Dam Won’t Be Allowed Whatever the Cost). On December 17, 2013, during the national assembly session, Pakistan People’s Party leader Mir Munawar Ali Talpur said, “If someone wants to disintegrate Pakistan, then the proposed dam should be built” (Kalabagh Dam issue: PPP MNA warns of disintegration). The responsibility of the Government is to serve all the provinces and fulfill their needs. These statements clearly show the concerns of the provinces of Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, and Balochistan for the Dam. Therefore, it would be injustice on the part of the Federal Government if they start building the Kalabagh Dam.

While building big dams like Kalabagh, policymakers should also consider its environmental cost in addition to its financial cost. Policymakers need to understand the fact that building dams on the rivers is a clear intervention in the natural process. The construction of the Dam is detrimental to the Delta because it has disastrous impacts on the Indus Delta and its inhabitants. 260,000 hectares of the Delta consist of mangrove forests and these forests play a vital role in the ecological system of several Marine and other species. These forests are vital to thousands of the people living in that area. Water from the Indus River is the only source of the water supply for their vegetation and agriculture. Apart from this, these forests are also essential for the survival of the Indus Delta. By building extensive canal systems, barrages and dams on the Indus River, Pakistan has already caused so much damage to the aquatic species like Palla fish and the Blind Dolphins that their survival in that area has become almost impossible. Installing another project of the similar nature will push these species to extinction. After the construction of Kalabagh dam, only 3.8 MAF will flow down from the Kotri barrage which is, in other words, the death of the Indus Delta and its inhabitants (Ghazanfar 165) because at least, 27 MAF of water outflow is necessary for sustaining life in Indus Delta (Kalabagh Dam: why it should not be built). World Bank in its report (2005) says that there is no feasibility that Pakistan would be able to use its water more than it is doing now. Therefore, Pakistan should decrease its irrigation needs because it is necessary for the survival of the Indus Delta. Big dams like Kalabagh have detrimental effects on the ecosystems of deltas. World Commission for Dams WCD in its report (2000) says that ecosystems provide different products like wildlife, forests, and fisheries and they are also of cultural as well as aesthetic importance to millions of people. However, dams are diverting the natural flow of water which in turn is affecting the natural productivity of these ecosystems. In light of all these facts, one can clearly see how harmful it is for our environment to build the Dam.

Socio-Economic costs associated with the Kalabagh Dam are much larger than its positive outcomes. A cost-benefits analysis of the Kalabagh Dam needs to account for the socioeconomic costs which clearly weighs its benefits. The government should not build Kalabagh dam because Pakistan is already facing a shortage of cultivatable land and Kalabagh Dam will consume more of 180,000 acres of cultivable land (Amir 1). The cultivatable land is essential for Pakistan because of its prominent share in Pakistan’s economy. Most of its land in Balochistan and Sindh is already uncultivable. Moreover, the construction of Kalabagh Dam will displace 250,000 people (Amir 1). The Government claims to provide financial compensation of assets to the people who will be displaced by the construction of Kalabagh Dam. However, money cannot replace the social affiliation of a human with his home. In addition to this, the Government is also short of resources to rehabilitate the refugees of such projects. It has been unable to manage the compensation given to the refugees of the previous dams. Because in case of the Tarbela Dam, the Government has been unsuccessful in fulfilling its claims to the refugees. According to Pakistan and Gulf Economist, while building Tarbela Dam, the Government of Pakistan allocated 60,000 acres of land to the refugees. Out of which, 30,000 acres were from Sindh. However, out of these 30,000 acres, only 10,667 acres were given to 667 refugees and out of these 667, 170 are still waiting to get possession of that land. The government of Sindh has openly denied giving the other 19,333 acres of land to the refugees (Rafiq 1). Pakistan is an underdeveloped country, and it is already facing a lot of refugee settlement problems of North Waziristan’s terrorism refugees as well as flood refugees from other areas of Pakistan. In this situation, it would be an extremely irrational decision to increase the figure for refugee settlement.