While deferring the hearing of petitions seeking directions to the government to construct Kala Bagh Dam (KBD), for October 31, Lahore High Court Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial on Thursday said consensus should be developed on the project, which was in the national interest.
The CJ remarked that the objections of the Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments were political, adding that such objections could be addressed through dialogue. He also remarked that floods had increased as a result of global warming and water reservoirs were necessary to store floodwater.
The petitions have been filed by Judicial Activism Panel chairman Muhammad Azhar Siddique and others. The petitioners say that the project is in the interest of all four provinces.
Petitioners’ counsels Muhammad Azhar Siddique and AK Dogar said that the technical committee on water resources had on April 11, 2005 given the go-ahead to construct the dam.
Dogar 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.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 26th, 2012.
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