Daducha Dam affectees evicted ‘without’ compensation

The long-running dispute between the administration and affectees over land acquisition for the under-construction Dadocha Dam, located about 25 kilometres from Rawalpindi city, came to an end through the use of force.

Acting with the support of paramilitary forces and the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD), the administration succeeded in vacating the land by deploying bulldozers and issuing threats.

As a result, 285 houses, cattle sheds, and shops in the affected villages of Bharwala and Khanpur were demolished.

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Most of the affected people dismantled their structures themselves after surrendering under pressure, despite not having received compensation for their land, while several buildings were razed by government bulldozers.

These families, who had been living in the area for nearly 300 years, have now begun migrating.

The settlements currently present a scene of devastation, reduced to heaps of rubble. Affectees are busy securing their livestock, belongings, and children, while the administration is clearing debris from the site.

The Dadocha Dam project was approved in 2005 during the tenure of former chief minister Chaudhry Pervez Elahi, with an initial cost of Rs5 billion.

The project cost has now surged to Rs17 billion. The new completion date has been fixed as December 31, 2027, reflecting a two-year extension.

A total of 16,194 kanals and 14 marlas of land have been acquired for the dam. Compensation at the rate of Rs15,000 to Rs17,000 per marla was announced, but only five per cent of politically influential individuals reportedly received payments, while the remaining affectees were promised compensation in February.

Despite this, the land was vacated without payment.

Upon completion, the dam will supply 35 million gallons of water per day to Rawalpindi and will have a storage capacity of 60,000 acre-feet.

Four villages have been completely wiped out, and seven have been partially affected.

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Affected residents, including Qazi Rab Nawaz, Ajmal Jamshed, and local elders, stated that they are not opposed to the dam but demand justice, including market-rate land compensation, payment for old trees, and provision of alternative land.

They alleged that they were forced to surrender through policing, CTD, and paramilitary pressure.

They further said that they own two ancestral land parcels measuring 82 kanals and 53 kanals at some distance.

A large housing society has forcibly occupied the 82-kanal land, while some affectees have started settling on the 53-kanal plot, which is located in a remote area with a severely damaged dirt road.

They urged the government to immediately pave the road as a goodwill gesture.

The affectees announced they would once again approach the courts, stating that Supreme Court and High Court orders regarding compensation were ignored. The final phase of land clearance for the dam has now been completed. Regular construction work is set to resume in the last week of January, and between January 20 and 25, all required land will be handed over to the Small Dams Organisation.