The Friends of Democratic Pakistan (FoDP) has prioritised $28.2 billion water and hydropower projects to be completed by 2020 and decided to follow the guidelines and safeguards set by the Asian Development Bank for providing funds and technical assistance.

This is the crux of the final report of FoDP’s water sector task force after including suggestions of the stakeholders. The report completed in about a year is scheduled to be launched on Feb 20.

“It is Pakistan’s political and policy leaders who will have to decide the course of action” — whether to have a binding commitment from provinces and the lending agencies or follow the normal decision process of five-year plans, annual budgets and partnership strategies with lenders about a roadmap.

The report says Pakistan has one of the largest, complex and integrated water system but despite greater issues its policy leaders were ‘flying almost blind’ despite an ominous threat from snow and glacial melt on the Indus system arising out of climate change.

The task force puts $12 billion Diamer-Bhasha dam in Gilgit-Baltistan as ‘priority number one’ for implementation after unanimity of views among all domestic stakeholders and bilateral and multilateral lenders.

Second on the list are six major projects with total cost of $14 billion — Kurram Tangi, Munda, Dasu, Kohala, Golen Gol and Bunji, to be developed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Fata, AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan.

There was unanimity among the member countries, lenders and stakeholders in Pakistan on the need for major dams and top priority for Bhasha dam.

On resistance from some provinces, the controversial Kalabagh dam has been dropped from the priority list, although the multilateral lenders had strongly recommended its construction.

Understanding the difficulties in taking major political decisions in an election year, the task force has also called for provincial strategies for the ‘next governments’ but advised the lending agencies to include these projects in the programmes already in the pipeline.

The task force has noted opposition from the Federal Flood Commission to putting responsibility of inspection of existing infrastructure and embankments on Wapda and left the issue for the government to decide.

The lenders have endorsed Punjab’s move to put in place an Asset Management Plan for embankments and to develop a financial method for maintenance of major embankments. Provinces believed FFC’s inspection of embankments was not up to the mark.

However, the task force notes “serious, cumulative problems of neglect of maintenance of major embankments by the provinces”.

It was agreed that good institutional, social and environmental policies were needed to attract external investment.

The task force did not agree to follow recommendations of the World Commission of Dams and decided to follow safeguard requirements of the ADB.

Despite insistence by some provinces that existing revenue sharing from large dams was sacrosanct, the task force said it would continue to advocate that Pakistan should adopt good global practices involving a formula of royalty sharing among affected provinces and local people and move away from the Tarbela-like arrangement that transfers maximum benefits to the province where the power house is located without giving project benefits to locally displaced communities.

The task force agreed that the 1991 accord was a great asset for water sharing among the provinces but urged to put in place an institutional framework that reduced current large political elements in its implementation and for better predictions for rabi and kharif seasons and transparent measurement of flows and losses to end mistrust.

The report notes strong agreement for improved on-farm water management (OFWM), the need for new infrastructure on canal storage and control structure.

Likewise, strong commitment has emerged for small and medium dams which should be developed by provinces but in integrated command area projects using modern technologies.

For this, all provinces have agreed to the objective of full cost recovery from users.

For better agricultural productivity, the stakeholders have also agreed to a $315 million assistance for OFWM, $140 million for small dams, $100 million for spate irrigation and $500 million for improved management of main canals.

The stakeholders have agreed to put in place new operating rules for major future dams and projects — moving away from agriculture as top priority to power and flood control whose benefits are larger than agriculture.

The FODP agreed to provide $500 million for a flood management programme to be completed by 2016.

The report notes major issues with bulk water transmission in Karachi, unsustainable groundwater use in Quetta posing an existential threat and deplores “no indication of willingness to address these challenges”.

It has also found broad agreement that the present institutional model is broken, most obviously financially as no utilities have operating ratio greater than 50 per cent, creating problems in meeting water needs in growing city peripheries and choking sewerage and sanitation services. It says the first step to address these issues will be for the political leadership to spend political capital for financial sustainability.

The task force says the FoDP should stay away from reforming city institutions unless there is a strong political commitment and then consider financing ‘transition costs’ for getting to financial sustainability.

Published in Dawn News

In the freezing cold, thousands of people in the Ghizer valley took to the streets and blocked roads to protest against loadshedding that has practically brought life to a standstill across Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B).

In Chilas, Diamer district, where the Diamer-Bhasha Dam is under construction, people suffered a blackout after the power and water department suspended electricity to consumers to protest against an official’s maltreatment by the police.

Residents of Ishkoman, Yasin, Phunder, Gitch and Goharabad were provoked by prolonged power cuts since electricity is the only facility available for residents in the valley where temperature plummeted to -12 degrees Celsius this week. “We have no water, no heating arrangement in this freezing cold. The four to six hours of electricity that we get has also been suspended,” said a trader, Nassem. The power cut had left thousands of people in the dark.

Police had booked more than 40 people for damaging public property in Ghizer valley as protests continued throughout the week.

In Gilgit, the duration of loadshedding has exceeded 15 hours a day while the mercury continues to drop. The situation is worse in Skardu, Astore, and Hunza-Nagar.

Official sources said G-B is currently experiencing 132 megawatts (MW) power shortfall while the government is unable to provide electricity to at least 15 per cent of the population of the region so far. It is generally believed that the shortfall increases considerably in winters when consumption increases while production declines. However official sources said the shortfall experienced in Gilgit is about 23 MW while it is about 25 per cent in Skardu, the second major city of G-B.

According to official statistics, the total strength of consumers in all the seven districts of G-B is more than 150,77, while approximately 400 connections are daily issued to new consumers.

G-B Minister for Water and Power, Wazir Shakil, said on Sunday that about 120MW of electricity would be generated by 2015 in G-B, a region that is believed to have the capacity to produce more than 50,000 MW. “Hectic efforts are under way to streamline matters pertaining to water and power,” he said, adding that the government was faced with financial issues.

Published in The Express Tribune

Source (The News) A large number of people in Kohistan district Friday blocked the Karakoram Highway (KKH) to protest boundary and land price issues of the Diamer-Bhasha Dam.

“We will not allow President Asif Ali Zardari to inaugurate the Diamer-Bhasha Dam on October 18, if the issues are not addressed,” MPA Abdul Sattar Khan told the protesters. Hundreds of protesters led by MPA Abdul Sattar Khan and other elders blocked the KKH at Harban area at around 12 noon. The highway remained blocked till filing of this report. The protesters, holding banners, chanted slogans against the government and Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda).

Other speakers, including Mian Gul, Syed Gul Badshah, Raza Wali Khan and others said they would not allow the president to inaugurate the dam unless the dues of the landowners were cleared and boundary issue with the Gilgit-Baltistan was settled. A grand jirga had earlier constituted a committee to convey the grievances of the people to the government.

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani said on Friday that the foundation stone of Diamer-Bhasha Dam will be laid on October 18.

Speaking during the National Assembly session on Friday, Gilani said the dam was a mega project and that the government had brought it in the Council of Common Interest (CCI) to take the approval of all stakeholders so that it could not be politicised like Kalabagh dam.

He said the CCI meeting was attended by all four chief ministers and the project had been approved unanimously.

Gilani, while responding to point of orders in the National Assembly, recalled that the Lowari Tunnel project had been launched during Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s government.

The prime minister said that the project require rupees two billion for completion, adding that the amount would soon be provided to complete the remaining work on the project.

He said all megaprojects, including Diamir Bhasha Dam, Thar coal, Lowari Tunnel, Neelum-Jehlum, Mangla uprising and others, would be completed by the government.

Gilgit-Baltistan Council approves budget

Gilgit Baltistan (GB) Council, met at the Prime Minister House today under the leadership of Gilani in his capacity as Chairman, unanimously approved the budget of GB Council for the period of 2011-2012.

According to the budget documents the budget estimates consist of Rs482.665 million for the Financial Year 2011-12, non-tax revenues are Rs280 million, capital receipts are Rs0.2 million while development expenditures are Rs180 million and non-development expenditures are Rs302.665 million taking total expenditure to the extent of Rs482.665 million.

Earlier, Gilani administered oath to three Advisors to Chairman GB Council here today at a ceremony held at the PM House. The Advisors who took the oath are Professor Ghulam Hussain, Ibadat Ali, and Atta Ullah Khan Shahab.

Soon after the oath taking ceremony, he addressed the second session of GB Council and congratulated the advisors to the Chairman, GB Council, on taking oath of office. He hoped that the Advisors would discharge their responsibilities with complete sincerity.

“It is democracy only that resolves people’s age-old problems by addressing their grievances and accommodating their demands. The government of Pakistan People’s Party has done what the political party having two/thirds majority in parliament could not do,” he stated.

He further said that the political history of the region bore witness to the fact that all landmark developments that led to attainment of autonomy took place during the governments of Pakistan People’s Party. The first major reform in the form of Northern Areas Council Legal Framework Order 1974-75 was promulgated by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, implying introduction of major administrative, judicial and political changes.

Gilani said that it was during the government of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto that the Northern Areas Legal Framework Order 1994 was promulgated. The final culmination of the process came about when the present government issued GB (Empowerment & Self-Governance) Order 2009, giving people political, legislative and administrative autonomy in line with the manifesto of PPP, the PM stated.

He maintained that the GB Council was performing its responsibilities in an upbeat manner by providing complete institutional support to the Council to work out policies aimed at achieving welfare of people, adding that the GB Government was fully autonomous in running its affairs.

Gilani said that GB had vast potential in the areas of power generation, tourism, mines and mineral and other areas. The mega Hydro-power projects such as Diamer-Basha Dam were extremely vital to our energy and food security and its role in bringing prosperity to the people of the area hardly needs to be emphasized and announced that the present Government also planned to initiate work on Bunji Dam which is projected to have power generation capacity of 11000 MW.

He said that the overall size of ongoing ADP projects in GB (comprising 563 schemes) was about Rs52.3 billion. Projects worth Rs13.2 billion are being funded through Federal PSDP. For the current financial year an allocation of Rs6.076 billion has been made for GB Government over and above the PSDP allocation of Rs1.58 billion.

Those who attended the meeting included Pir Karam Ali Shah, Vice Chairman Gilgit Baltistan Council/Governor Gilgit Baltistan, Mian Manzoor Ahmad Wattoo, Minister for Kashmir Affairs & Gilgit Baltistan, Syed Mehdi Shah, Chief Minister for Gilgit Baltistan, Mir Changez Khan Jamali, Minister for Science and Technology, Farah Naz Insphani, MNA/Member GB Council, Aftab Shahban Mirani, MNA/Member GB Council, Muhammad Tariq Tarar, MNA/Member GB Council, Sherry Rehman, MNA/Member GB Council, Engr Usman Khan Tarkai, MNA/Member GB Council, Prof Ghulam Hussain Saleem, Member GB Council, Muhammad Ibrahim, Member GB Council, Amjad Hussain, Member GB Council, Saeed Afzal, Member GB Council, Attaullah Khan, Member GB Council, Wazir Baig, Speaker, GB Legislative Assembly, Jamil Ahmed, Deputy Speaker GB Legislative Assembly, Muhammad Ali Akhtar, Minister for Finance Gilgit Baltistan and senior official of Gilgit Baltistan Council.

Source (Dawn)  The federal government will induct 600 personnel in the Northern Area Scouts to provide foolproof security to the workers during the construction of Diamer-Bhasha Dam.

A statement issued by the chief minister secretariat on Friday disclosed the decision was taken at a meeting between chief minister GB and chairman Wapda in Islamabad.

Wapda chairman told Syed Mehdi Shah that 600 scouts would be appointed to safeguard the engineers and labourers to be engaged with construction work on Diamer-Bhasha Dam.

The Wapda chief also assured of upgrading the district headquarters hospitals of Chilas, Skardu, and Gilgit and setting up a state-of-the-art public school in Skardu.

The statement said Wapda also promised to release within 15 days Rs2.20 billion in respect of land compensation to the landowners.

PEACE IN GB: Members of the Parliamentary Committee of Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly on Friday met the top religious scholars of Gilgit and appealed to them to play their role in establishing peace in the area, which has witnessed sectarian violence, official sources said.

The sources said members of the committee headed by leader of opposition Bashir Ahmed visited residences of Qazi Nisar and Aga Rahat Hussaini and apprised them of the critical situation prevailing in the area.

The sources said the delegation asked the scholars to come forward and strengthen the hands of the administration in defeating anti-social elements.