Kalabagh Dam: Federation given last chance to file reply

Petitioner says KP suffering most due to delay in construction of dam.

LAHORE:

Lahore High Court Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial on Thursday gave last a chance to the federal government to file a reply on a petition seeking construction of Kalabagh Dam.

The chief justice had directed the government at the last hearing to inform the court about the benefits of the Kalabagh Dam project.

However, the reply was not submitted on Thursday. A law officer, appearing on behalf of the federal government, sought more time to file the reply.

The CJ accepted the request and gave the government a last chance.  The hearing was adjourned till October 11.

At a previous hearing, former World Bank legal advisor Bashir A Malik had said if the dam was not built, India and Afghanistan would start using the water now available in Pakistan.

Advocate Syed Feroz Shah Gillani said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had suffered the most due to the delay in the construction of the Kalabagh Dam.

He said even after the completion of the Bhasha Dam, the province would continue to be deprived of additional water because it would be 50 feet below Dera Ismail Khan, where 800,000 acres of available agricultural land could not be irrigated economically.

Advocate Gillani said the government should ask the Council of Common Interests to remove differences and problems among the provinces and differences of the federation with the provinces regarding the project.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 14^th, 2012.