Editorial

Building new dams

The authorities should give serious thought to all these aspects while planning to build new dams

August 14, 2021

Prime Minister Imran Khan has announced that his government would build 10 dams in the near future to counter the threat of a looming water crisis in the country. The construction of new dams is imperative especially in view of the erratic rainfall patterns, induced by climate change, the country has been experiencing in recent years. In some years, there is scanty rain while in others there is excess of it and a large amount of which flows into the sea. Also, our rivers receive around 80% of water inflow within three to four months. All this makes a strong case for increasing the number of dams in the country. Dams will prevent water from ending up in the sea, and the water thus saved will be available for irrigation and domestic purposes and for generating clean electricity.

The PM is optimistic that the construction of Mohmand and Bhasha dams would greatly help overcome shortage of irrigation and drinking water and add to power generation. A sufficient quantity of irrigation water would increase food production and save the precious foreign exchange now spent on import of food grains. The construction of new dams would also create many jobs. The Tennessee Valley Authority of the US, set up in 1933, as part of the programme to overcome the effects of the Great Depression, is a good example of the multiple benefits accruing from dams. Projects launched under the Authority controlled floods, helped improve irrigation, increased electricity generation and created huge job opportunities.

The whole process will prove a virtuous cycle. Imran Khan deplored that the construction of Bhasha Dam had been approved in 1984 but construction work could not start due to lack of political will on the part of past governments. However, there are also downsides of the construction of dams. The experience of various countries shows that dams might cause displacement of people, harm natural habitats of animals and birds as well as adversely impact the environment. The authorities should give serious thought to all these aspects while planning to build new dams.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 14^th, 2021.

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COMMENTS (1)

Raza Zafar | 3 years ago | Reply Research by Oxford has years back clearly proven that large dams are NOT expected to be an economically viable proposition taking into account past dam constructions all over the world and the effect of cost and time overruns almost sure for large dams to face reasons clearly spelt out in this important theory . It is preferable in public interest if policy statements are rational and entrenhed in scientific theory and not random assertions on what happened in a dam constructed in US in 1934 almost 100 years back Large dam construction is most likely to be affected by cost and time overruns seriously unbalancing the Cost-Benefit ratios making them Non-Viable. Ansar 2013 Energy Policy 2014 . Studies covered 245 nos. Large dams constructed between 1934 and 2007. That is if the Cost-Benefit ratios were scientifically calculated at all - rare since consultants are prejudiced for providing favoring feasibility attuned to the whims of their paymasters. Independent third-party internationally rated technical-cum-financial feasibility is rarely carried out providing ample opportunity to those at the helm to maximize their benefits from fallaciously derived project results by obliging consultants. This is other than the major ecological disaster that such large dams are proven to be recently these matters are also reported by others in the academia . A geographic overview indicates that large dams are no longer constructed by Developed countries. Soar and Wind projects are a far viable economic proposition accompanied with rare ecological effects if any. Water storage options other than those derived from large dams with and without the hydel power being sought are the economically favored solution. And also with least ecological and people resettlement issues. When the advanced world avails better options why do the developing countries tow the Large Dam line. Neelum - Jhelum hydropower project although run-of-river was completed in 10 TEN times the original planned cost. And we have serious issues regarding its tariff setting. A forensic inquiry if any would not recover the billions of electricity consumers money deducted as a fraction of the bill . Why are they constructed in developing countries Is a poor man with borrowed resources expected to put in his money in nearly 80 likely investment failures Developing countries continue to construct them being at the whims of conniving policy determination for personal benefit seeking and because they are best political showpieces for half-literate populations who hardly understand what financial and economic viability means. The Large dams are mega rent seeking ventures with mega costs meaning a single percentage of rent commission derived running into tens of millions of dollars. And obliging local consultant consortium can easily manipulate costs through many percentage inflated costs. Cost manipulation is easily decipherable if a comparison is drawn with contemporary costs of other recently constructed large dams - widely and easily available on the web.

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