SWAT:
As the Bahrain community expressed reservations over the Daral Khawar Power Project, a meeting was called by the district coordination officer (DCO) to address their concerns at his office on Monday.
The participants of the meeting have called for another survey of the controversial project.
The participants of the meeting proposed the formation of a Grievances Redress Committee to tackle the issue in an organised way. “I have directed all the sub-divisional magistrates to consult with the communities and try to resolve their problems,” said DCO Kamran Rehman.
Zubair Torwali, a social activist, representing the community said that meetings with stakeholders were nothing new but the Sarhad Hydel Development Organisation (SHYDO) remained indifferent to their issues. “They did not consult anyone from the community when the project survey was being conducted. There are flaws in the proposed project due to the bureaucratic attitude of the organisation.”
He spelled out the adverse impact, which the project would have on irrigation channels and in turn on agriculture, the main source of income for people in the area. “Most of the locals depend on Daral River for potable water, which the present project design would deprive them of,” he said. It will also stop more than 10 already running micro-hydel power stations, he added.
Furthermore, he said the project would affect the environment, as it entails chopping down 40,000 trees for the construction of the road leading to the project. It would also adversely impact tourism, which is a major contributor to Bahrain’s economy. Other negative fallouts include higher temperatures in summer and threatening various species of fish because of the reduced water flow. Dozens of water mills will also come to a halt.
“The current design of the project was patented for the Asian Development Bank, but it withdrew the project from its portfolio last August. This means, the bank took the reservations of the affected community into account.” However, SHYDO is still following the design that its former donor had rejected, he added.
Based on the flaws and adverse impact of the project, people from Bahrain and Daral valley have demanded a redesign of the project which would not divert the river water. The community is aware of the energy crisis and does not oppose development, but it has to be environment -friendly.
SHYDO project manager presented data on water flow throughout the year. Total flow of water in Daral Khwar in summer is 817 cusecs, whereas the project would require 529.5 cusecs, leaving 300 cusecs in the river. In winter, the total flow of water in the river is 30 cusecs, whereas the project would require 24 cusecs. Only six cusecs of water would be insufficient to meet the needs of the community.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Member Provincial Assembly (MPA) Jafar Shah said he was aware of the energy crisis but he was equally concerned about the project’s effect on tourism and the environment, particularly forests. For this reason, he could not approve the project without the consent of the local people, while addressing the meeting.
The MPA suggested that various approaches must be explored to reach a proper consensus. He proposed that a committee should be formed to address the issue with the K-P chief minister, chairman of SHYDO’s board of directors.
Endorsing, Torwali’s idea of involving an independent party, Shah said that experts should be asked whether a redesign of the project is possible .
He elaborated that the committee would comprise community members, SHYDO officials, the DCO and him. He said the committee would take up the issue with the CM.
After constitution of the Grievances Redress Committee, it was recommended that a new survey of the proposed road should be conducted.
Ten per cent royalty and five megawatts of electricity from the project will be reserved for the community. He gave the assurance that the possibility of redesigning the project would be seriously considered.
It was decided that Shah would convey the recommendations to the chief minister directly while the DCO would send them through official channels.
Members of the committee will attend the next coordination meeting of the board.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 10th, 2012.
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