Pakistan’s new power policy is conspicuously silent on the critical Kalabagh dam project, reflecting the government’s indifference towards the project. The Kalabagh dam (KBD) is the only project in Pakistan that can make power affordable for the masses in a short period of five years. It is also the only project that can make the economy competitive and sustainable without the crutches of bailouts and loss of sovereignty. Consider its benefits; it will produce up to 15 billion units of power every year at an average cost of Rs1.5/kwh. The annual cost will be around Rs22 billion. This cheap power will annually displace costly power worth approximately Rs300 billion with consequential savings of costly oil imports. This saving alone would wipe out the current account deficit, boost reserves and strengthen the rupee. The dam will wipe out loadshedding and increase industrial output by $5-6 billion a year. Its contribution to value addition in agricultural output could go up to $10 billion a year. The dam has the potential to single-handedly wipe out rural poverty in Pakistan. Every province stands to benefit from this project; and its financing will also not be a problem. It defies logic how a project that can transform the lives of the poor of a country is thought to lead to its breakup – as is insisted by some of our national leaders. It seems that our leaders are either incompetent or promoting their own narrow political self-interest – or, worse, being played by foreign conspiracies to deprive Pakistan of a strong and competitive economy. Whatever the reason, these leaders have committed economic crimes against the poor by depriving the country of benefits equal to about five percent of GDP per annum; amounting to around $500 billion over the life of the project. Leaders from Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been leading the movement against this project. While the ANP has been wiped out in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the PPP continues to rule the roost in Sindh. It is, therefore, important to examine the role of the ruling classes in Sindh for opposing the KBD. The urban-rural economic divide in Sindh is expanding sharply. Rural Sindh has 52 percent of the population, while its share of GDP is only 30 percent including its natural resources. Its per capita income has been declining every year since the last 15 years; 50 percent of its population lives below the poverty line and 68 percent of its population consumes less than 2100 calories. The people of rural Sindh continue to suffer under a high rate of unemployment, inadequate access to education and health facilities, lack of access to potable water and nonexistent sanitation arrangements as well as misgovernance, corruption and mismanagement of land resources. Industrial infrastructure is also negligible. The only escape for the region’s youth is to either migrate or choose a life of crime. And yet they continue to vote for those who promise roti, kapra and makaan and deliver nothing but poverty. The issues of rural Sindh stem from the constant water shortage faced by most of its water-starved districts and the devastating floods that occur in flood-prone areas. A search on Google Earth throws up fascinating and detailed maps of Sindh, which show that the province is green wherever irrigation is available and arid brown where modern irrigation systems have not been implemented. They also show that most of the water-starved districts, with the exception of Thatta, are east of the River Indus. These areas include the Thar region (Tharparkar and Umerkot), the Nara region (Sanghar, Khairpur, Ghotki and Sukkur) and Mirpurkhas in the east with the Katchho and Kohistan regions (Dadu and Thatta) in the west. The water-rich irrigated areas primarily comprise Shikarpur, Larkana, Nawabshah, the two Tandos and Badin. This shows a very interesting east-west water divide. The feudal leadership of Sindh is concentrated in the well-irrigated areas of Sindh where they have also appropriated the kacha state lands that are dependant on flood agriculture. With better water management and irrigation facilities, these kacha areas could have been turned into permanent agricultural land and distributed to the landless haris of Sindh. Notwithstanding this appropriation of land, the real tragedy has taken place in the water-starved districts of Sindh. These districts have seen no efforts towards irrigation; the dry districts include almost 60 percent of Sindh and 40 percent of the population. Out of the 40 odd rural Sindh seats in the National Assembly, these areas have over 16 representatives. Yet never has a voice been raised in favour of developing irrigation facilities in these areas. The NA members from these districts are mostly well-off feudals – six pirs/Syeds, two Mahers, two Junejos, two Talpurs, some shaikhs etc. For some reason, they are subservient to the landlords of the irrigated districts. While there seems to be a conflict of interest between water-rich and water-starved districts, there is also a serious conflict of interest between the landless poor people of Sindh and the feudal prosperous leadership of Sindh. Whereas the landless would want state land to be developed, irrigated and distributed to them, the leadership prefers the status quo remains intact. Over the years, Sindh’s irrigation network has stagnated. The marvellous north-south Nara irrigation canal system that emanates from the Sukkur Barrage irrigates 2.5 million acres of land. The Kotri Barrage was constructed in 1955 with a command area of three million acres, while the Guddu Barrage was completed in 1962 and irrigates around 2.9 million acres of land. The additional water made available by the Mangla and Tarbela dams was channelled through these barrages to the water-rich districts of Sindh. The water-starved districts of the east, however, were ignored. The future prosperity of eastern Sindh is now certainly closely linked to water storage from the construction of the Kalabagh dam. Leaders from water-scarce areas need to push through a major irrigation canal project that cuts through the eastern districts from Ghotki all the way down to Tharparker running close to the Indian border. Sindh would get close to four million acre feet of irrigation water per year from its share of water from the Kalabagh dam. This water, along with modern desert irrigation technology, could result in bringing around six million acres of land under high value agriculture. In addition, around one million landless families could be allotted small farms with full production support systems for horticulture. This epic mega project can transform the rural economy of Sindh, generate large-scale employment, huge agricultural surpluses and quickly wipe out rural poverty. Its benefits can set rural Sindh’s economy on a continuous high growth path. The elected leaders of the eastern districts have to wake up and ensure this dream becomes a reality. They must force the national leadership to launch this project coupled with the construction of the Kalabagh dam. Three leaders – Asif Ali Zardari, Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan – can do it. Together they can lay the foundation of the two projects tomorrow and inaugurate completion in 2018, earning the gratitude of the Pakistani nation along the way.
Posted on: Thu, 15 Aug 2013 06:23:00 +0000