The Kalabagh Dam (, ) is a proposed hydroelectric dam on the Indus River at Kalabagh in the Mianwali District, Punjab, Pakistan, which has been intensely debated along ethnic and regional lines for over 40 years.
If constructed, the dam could generate 3,600 megawatts(MW) of electricity. It is also suggested and promoted as a potential solution to the chronic flooding problem and the related water crises in the country. Over the decades, the understanding of the environmental impacts of mega dam projects have grown, and Pakistan Economy Watch has demanded a national debate on the KBD issue.
History
After the construction of Tarbela Dam and Mangla Dam, Kalabagh became the highest priority dam project. In 1979, the government obtained a grant of $25 million from the UNDP for its preparation, detailed design and feasibility. Pakistan first approached the Soviet Union for financing assistance, but due to strained relations with Afghanistan (a Soviet ally), this request was denied. The government then approached the World Bank, which agreed to finance the project. At this point in Pakistan's history, previous dam projects such as Mangla (under Ayub Khan) and Tarbela (under Zulfikar Ali Bhutto) never faced any opposition. Even Kalabagh was approved by the Central Development Working Party, without dissent.
The issue of Kalabagh started to become politicized after the execution of the former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, a highly popular leader from the downstream province of Sindh. Adding to the controversy, was the feud between Zia-ul-Haq and his own NWFP governor Fazl e Haq, which eventually dragged in the Awami National Party into the opposing camp. Due to certain violations of the Indus Accord by the Punjab province, reservations in Sindh grew against the project, whose population and political leaders now painted it as a conspiracy.
Despite the political roadblocks, the World Bank and foreign consultants continued their work on Kalabagh, over a period of ten years, up to 1986 when the project was finally put on hold. The suspicions of the Sindhis grew after Benazir Bhutto's government was dismissed in favor of Nawaz Sharif (from Punjab.) There is debate on whether Benazir favored the Kalabagh project. Pir Pagar has claimed the dam was originally conceived by her father, and that Benazir had allocated funds for it. Others like Sharjeel Memon have claimed Benazir was against its construction.
In December 2004, Pervez Musharraf announced that he would re-initiate the Kalabagh project to serve the larger interest of Pakistan. However, on 26 May 2008, the Federal Minister for Water and Power of Pakistan, Raja Pervez Ashraf, said that the "Kalabagh Dam would not be constructed" and that the project had been cancelled due to "opposition from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and other stakeholders, the project was no longer feasible". In 2010 after the worst floods in Pakistani history, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Yousaf Raza Gilani, stated flood damage would be minimized if the Kalabagh Dam were built.
Arguments Supporting Construction
A study funded by National University of Science and Technology in 2014, concluded that building Kaalabagh would offer the following benefits: (1) Annual savings of $4 billion in energy costs (2) Saving Rs. 132 billion due to irrigation benefits and (3) Prevent flood-loss damage, such as the $45 billion loss suffered in recent floods at the time the study was published. The study estimated that the overall benefits of Kalabagh would provide US Dollar 87 million every year, and thus the cost of construction would be repaid within 8–9 years. Moreover, according to the study, the negative consequences of not building Kalabagh are as follows: (1) Economic destabilization due to food shortage, (2) "Serious drop" in agricultural production, (3) Rise in inter-provincial disputes over water, (4) Additional cost of importing energy, (5) Prohibitive cost of electricity for the average consumer and (6) Effects on industry and agriculture due to rising electricity costs.