'Objections over Kalabagh Dam construction are political'

Lahore High Court Chief Justice says consensus should be developed over the project.

LAHORE: While deferring till October 31 the hearing of petition seeking construction of Kalabagh Dam (KBD), Lahore High Court Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial on Thursday said consensus should be developed over the project. 

The chief justice remarked that objections raised by Sindh and Khyber Pkhtunkhwa over the construction of the KBD were political. He added that such objections can be addressed through dialogues.

Global warming is causing more floods and water reservoirs were the need of the hour for water storage, he said.

The petition was filed by the Judicial Activism Panel chairman and others claiming that the non-construction of the dam would make agricultural land barren.

They said that this project was in the interest of all provinces and the objections raised against it were of a technical nature and could be removed.

“Resolutions passed against the dam by the provinces were a result of ignorance,” they said.

The petitioners' counsel had earlier informed the court that the technical committee on water resources had on April 11, 2005, given a green signal for the construction of the dam.

Counsel Muhammad Azhar Siddique said the court should issue clear-cut directives for the completion of this project, which was of national importance. He said in June 1985 and July 1989 the Planning and Development Division had decided to construct the KBD. In 2004, the LHC, too, had ordered the department concerned to take measures to construct the dam. In India, he said, the superior courts had not only dismissed petitions against the construction of dams, but also admonished those who took the matter before the court.