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90 pc Ghazi Barotha water channel excavation completed

NISAR AHMAD SHEIKH

ISLAMABAD: The Rs 1 trillion Ghazi Barotha Hydro Power project's 90 percent excavation work pertaining to the 52 km long water channel has been completed while some 25 percent of the channel has been constructed, along with some bridges.

The cost has escalated due to political influene and high expectations among the landowners, with the result that the compensation for land acquired for the project has gone up from an estimated Rs 1.8 billion to about Rs 7.6 billion. The project, conceived in 1991, drew great political influence and created high hopes about their benefits among the people by the time the actual work started in 1995.

But the cost, even at escalated rate, would be recovered over a period of five years from the start of generation of power to the tune of 1450 megawatt.

The political awakening and influence and the increasing awareness among the affectees was caused by certain factors which included the insistence by the World Bank that the project should be environmentally friendly and the compensation be paid at the market rate. Still, the people whose lands have been acquired are not satisfied with the award and a large number of them have gone to the courts for the adjudication of their claims.

So far, out of 136 awards, 117 affectees have been paid Rs 3,949,325,369 out of a total of Rs 4,492,039,539 claim awards.

Up to November 1999 possession of land pertaining to awards numbering 113 has been taken over by Wapda. Total land to be acquired is estimated at 5470 hectares. Of this, 1000 hectares would be utilised for water channel, 1880 hectares for barrage and pond, 950 hectares for power complex and colonies and temporary land amounting to 1640 hectares for 'spoil banks'. Total number of affectees is 19,875.

Individual court cases between Wapda and affectees number 1054 while through the efforts of the NGO 'Ghazi Barotha Development Organisation' (or 'Ghazi Barotha Taraciyati Idara') (GBTI), efforts are under way to settle the cases out of court, and uptil now 17 affectees have signed the agreement which are awaiting Wapda's approval.

The environmental-friendly project will ultimately return some 40 percent of the land in developed form with tubewell irrigation, to the original owners. This will, of course, be on payment of suitable price which is yet to be determined. But this developed land would yield much better crops them earlier, as it used to depend on rainfall.

Besides the returned land, the local population would have roads on both sides of the water channel, with 51 big and small bridges. This rain-fed region would ultimately become an irrigated area which would revolutionise the economy of the area.

The NGO, GBTI, is not only very active in settling labour disputes as well as land compensation disputes, it is also actively pursuing the employment problem on the project. It has so far distributed 6390 work permits for the local population, while it is endeavouring to solve the resettlement and environmental issues of the affectees. It has started a technical programme for the affectees and so far 402 persons have imparted training in different skills. It has prepared a talent pool for the benefit of the contractors with lists of technical hands and other numbering 19,742.

The GBTI is also actively carrying out development activities in the area and, up to November 1999, disbursed credit amounting to Rs 6,385,000 and has completed 19 out of 176 productive infrastructure schemes. The overall cost of all these schemes would come to Rs 4,489,686.

It is also making efforts to raise plantation in the area and supply seed for vegetables and other crops.

A spokesman of the NGO, talking to Business Recorder, said that three types of contractors are working on the project Ñ Italians, Chinese and Pakistanis. The excavation and construction of the main channel, the roads, the bridges, the barrage is being done by Italians and Pakistanis, while the Chinese have been given the contract for the power complex.

The GBTI, registered under Companies Act 1995 as a national rural support programme organisation, was provided Rs 100 million as seed money by Wapda and promised a further amount of Rs 176 million for implementing integrated regional development plan. The board of directors of the GBTI comprises eight directors from among the affectees, including four women directors, besides technical directors.

The GBTI is satisfactorily discharging its different roles, like the advocacy role, facilitation and enabling role as well as liaison role for all environmental, resettlement and rehabilitation activities.

This organisation was created as a result derived from the sad experience of Tarbela from where over a thousand affectees are still awaiting compensation etc.

At the Orangi Pilot Project symposium, with special reference to Akhtar Hameed Khan, an affectees of the project complained to the minister for local bodies, Omar Asghar Khan, that the affectees, quite a large number of them, have not yet been paid their compensation and the process should be expedited. He demanded that the affected area should be supplied with gas.