To,

Riaz Ahmad Khan, Advisor, WAPDA, Lahore

Sub: Proposal to finance the Unique multipurpose dams to support irrigated agriculture, industries, produce food, control floods and remove woes of water, power, floods and rapid silting.

It was desired by you that I should give my suggestions how to finance these four vital projects therefore I give suggestions as follows.

 For the sustenance of the nation, suffering from many awful calamities like the crippling load shedding, the devastating flood havoc of 2010, shortage of water, shortage of hydropower, and non-implementation of Water Accord for 20 years, rapid silting of reservoirs losing 6.5 maf storage, the country needs protection from these issues by financing and implementing Katzarah Dam, Raised Fateh barrage, Guroh Dop Dam, and Mikhani Dam storage diversion.  These dams were discovered by me during 1960-61 when I was on deputation to WAPDA. No one took notice of these dams for more than 50 years. Now, the issue of financing these projects has arisen as the Government is unable to finance therefore,  other sources shall have to be found and attractive Water Policy be implemented.  

At present there is 35 per cent water shortage and 8500 MW of power shortage, closure of about 70 per cent big and small industries and the devastation of 22 per cent of the developed area of Pakistan caused by the floods of 2010 and the rapid silting of reservoirs by 6.5 maf. All these sufferings happened for not building these dams in time. All these accumulated water and power woes shall have to be set right by implementing the four life saving dams. Finances shall have to be arranged and water policy made to attract financing as Dubai has done

These water and power woes can only be set right if the four projects, namely, the unique, multipurpose, flood control 35 maf Katzarah Dam on the Indus, and the multipurpose, flood control, 8.5 maf Guroh Dop Dam on Panjkora River, in combination with Mirkhani Dam diverting Chitral River water to the catchment area of Panjkora River to control floods in Kabul River besides the generation of hydropower by these dams. Katzarah, Basha and Raised Fateh Barrage will completely control floods in the Indus and the stored water would be used for irrigated agriculture.

The fourth project of Raised barrage is at the tail end of the Indus River valley, at about Elevation 700, over lapping the Kalabagh Reservoir.  This project was initiated by me when I was Chairman IRSA in 1994. This project is very important from many technical points of view besides ending lifelong damaging controversy. It is a unique replacement and a unique substitute for the highly, emotional controversial, Kalabagh Dam. Raised Fateh Barrage can easily store 4.4 maf of water perennially, if built up to elevation 880. It will store 3.4 maf of water if built up to elevation 860 as originally proposed by me. It can store up to 6.2 maf if built to elevation 900 but I would like to avoid this. A wonderful feature of Raised Fateh Barrage is that its hydraulic design is unique. It can serve as balancing reservoir. This barrage will give all time perennial storage water as it has no silting problem. The concept of Raised Fateh barrage is in agreement with the concept of Chas T. main of special low level sluices. Refer to KBD Project report June, 1988, page 3.9, para 3.31. On the other hand, Kalabagh Reservoir is time-based storage due to heavy silting. The death of reservoir starts the day it is built. Therefore avoid rapid silting of reservoirs. Few excerpts on silting from the KBD project report are quoted.

The role of silt in KBD

Reference is invited to KBD Project report 1988, page 3.5, para 3.17. The excerpt is;

·       “The high sediment load carried by the Indus at Kalabagh has an important bearing on the design of Kalabagh and on the operation rules for the reservoir. If a high proportion of sediment is trapped the storage volume will rapidly reduce with the loss of irrigation benefits derived from storage. Such sedimentation could eventually also cause unacceptable backwater effects”.

Refer to KBD Project report, June 1988, page 3.9, para 3.31 The excerpt is;

·       “Chess T. Main considered special low level sluices to achieve very low level draw down. In this case power generation must be discontinued. Thus economic penalty is large”.

Chas T. main by special low level sluicing means a barrage that evacuates silt.

Refer to KBD Project report on page 3.5, para 3.17. page 4.12, para 4.57, page 3.9, para 3.31

·       “Upstream of Attock gorge the flood level is sensitive to the amount of sediment so that flood risk will increase with time”.

·       “The future distribution of sediment can be predicted in general terms only, and local  behavior will depend on actual sediment inflows, reservoir operation, and local flow pattern”.

·       “In the long run the operation of power will be on run-of-the-river”.

Please examine the tailored TOR for KBD that made it controversial

·       “Basically the design criteria ware set during the initial appraisal of scheme and development on line design. These were based on the requirements of the client through the terms of reference or subsequent instructions”.

Please read and find the inside purpose of this ridiculous TOR given by WAPDA. It is wrong to impose conditions on the consultant. He is restricted from the sound proposal.

Financial side of these projects and land compensation 

The Government has no money to finance these vital life savior four projects. Therefore, there is no alternative but to create own finances or continue suffering from various calamities.

·       The displaced population must immediately be compensated as they will make sacrifice for the18 crores of population of Pakistan.

·       Justice demands that when the displaced persons give sacrifice, the remaining 18 crores of population must pay the cost of compensation in the form of contribution for the construction of the four life saving projects. This contribution will be like toll tax on Motorway.

·       The income from power royalty from these projects must be shared with the displaced persons for 40 years or so.

·       WAPDA be asked to float bonds by offering attractive profits.

·       The Head of the State should appeal to the nations of the world to contribute and finance the four life saving projects. The nations of the world helped Pakistan after it was hit by the calamities of floods and earthquake. Let they help during the calamities and before the calamities hit Pakistan again. This would save Pakistan from colossal loss as caused by the 2010 floods, crippling load shedding and the earthquake that hit Balakot in 2005. All the help would be on humanitarian basis.

·       The four projects may be implemented through public private partnership, local or foreign.

·       Sometimes back, Saudi Arabia requested Pakistan to give land on lease so that they develop it and use it for food production to meet their future food needs. Please offer this proposal to Arab world to finance these projects and get their share.

·       All shopkeepers, bureaucrats, advocates, industrialists, farmers, plaza owners, traders may contribute for 10 years to finance the life saving projects to avoid load shedding, floods, and other calamities

·       The zakat funds may be transferred to finance these four projects. AT present most of these funds are wasted.

·       About 90 per cent of all development projects must stop. Money given to MNA and MPA must stop. All programs like Benazir support program must stop as all such people that get help would be benefitted by the four dams. Jobs will be created.                   

·       Terrorism that is due to poverty will be removed from Pakistan if these projects are implemented

·       Finance expert may be consulted how to finance these projects.

Beginning may be made with the Raised Fateh Barrage. It is a short term multipurpose project, requiring short time to built, costing about $ 2 billion. The hydropower income from this project may be spent on the remaining three projects. Almost all investigation made for KBD apply to this project. The residential colony built for KBD can be used by this project.

Engr Fateh ullah Khan  Gandapur.                        Dated June 23, 2012

                       

To

            The Secretary Water and Power,

            Ministry of Water and Power, Government of Pakistan,

            Islamabad.

Subject: Articles written by Mr Fateh ullah Khan Gandapur

Irrigated Agriculture has two basic inputs. These inputs are Water and Land. In three meetings of the committee, the Chairman of the committee Engr Riaz Ahmad Khan Advisor has very methodically conducted the issues, discussing all technical aspects of each issue of water woes. I discussed dire necessity for implementing  Integrated Comprehensive Water Management and the modernization of the wasteful, incompatible and obsolete canal irrigation system besides commenting on the IWT. I found agreement on all water issues. The Chair thoroughly grasped the issues and further elaborated these.

However, WAPDA representative, as usual expressed opinion not to build all dams under discussion as population would be displaced, though these projects are technically very sound, he said. WAPDA therefore ignored and did not discuss the technical aspects of these issues.

 I suggested immediate compensation of the displaced population as there is no other alternative for removing the woes faced by Pakistan. Let the Government decide what is in the interest of the State and feeding and protecting the 18 crores population. WAPDA should not thrust its one sided decision, but solve issues on technical merits and in greater national interest. WAPDA forgets displacement of population by controversial dams recommended by it, like KBD, Akhori, where as, Munda, Kurram Tangi are local dams with very small storage and the population is also displaced by them. It is not the duty of WAPDA to reject unique dams by getting support from the population of the affected area after creating fear in that area. WAPDA should investigate technical merits and demerits of the project. It is the duty of Government to make decision which dam to built, in greater national interest.

 WAPDA opposition to these dams without technical reasons is traditional. WAPDA blunders can be judged from the failure of Kachi Canal from Mithan Kot, Failure of SCARPs, Falure of NDP, selecting wrong dam site at Kalabagh with poorest CI ratio making it controversial for 37 years and now propagating against these new unique dams. As WAPDA failed twice in providing vital drainage system, therefore it abandoned to provide the right type of drainage system, an integral part of irrigation system. All these blunders are committed by WAPDA because no notice of these failures was taken by the government. I therefore suggest to shift WAPDA Head quarter to Islamabad to work in collaboration  with IRSA. IRSA Head quarter was also shifted from Lahore to Islamabad  

It is surprising that all Governments including the Government of Pervaiz Musharraf, were kept in dark by WAPDA. Katzarah Dam site was not pointed out to the Prime Minister when he was laying the foundation of Basha Dam. The Technical Committee of Abbassi and the Parliamentary Committee of Nisar Memon and the Government of Sindh and NWFP recommended to buid Katzarah Dam but WAPDA ignored all this. Is this not betrayal? Similarly WAPDA objects to Guroh Dop and Raised Fateh barrage that population will be displaced though technically these are very sound projects. It is therefore necessary that WAPDA should work under the supervision of Government at Islamabad.  

Mr M.H. Siddiqi, consultant, an experienced and competent irrigation engineer of Punjab irrigation Department appreciated my proposals of new storage. He also suggested that an international neutral water expert should be hired to prioritize the construction of proposed dam sites discovered by me and find their merits and demerits. The Chair also endorsed the proposal. 

The interest of 18 crores population and their requirements must be kept in view besides giving them protection against floods and rapid silting of reservoirs, generate cheap hydropower and store water for irrigated agriculture to produce food, and avoid wastage of water to sea. The committee chaired by Riaz Ahmad Khan unanimously agreed to appoint foreign consultant to get his views.

 At the end of the committee, Riaz Ahmad Khan Advisor asked me to give my views how to finance these four projects. I therefore give my suggestions that need to be examined by the Government and by an economic expert.  

     

I highly appreciate the wise and intelligent handling of these vital issues by Riaz Ammad Khan, Advisor.

 I very much appreciate the formation of this committee by the Secretary Water and Power, after knowing the issues. His initiative is highly appreciated.

We discussed Water issues. Similarly, I would appreciate to discuss land management issues, as land in the Indus Basin is degrading. Both issues are very important being inputs of agriculture. The agriculture scientists in the field of agronomy, soil management, farm water management, salinity, sodicity, water logging and drainage of irrigated lands shall have to be discussed. At present there is no drainage system a vital component of irrigation system. One million small tube wells indiscriminately pumping about 45 to 50 maf of injurious drainage effluent as groundwater for irrigation use, are playing hell with soil degradation as they inject 350 million tons of injurious salts invisibly and gradually in to the land each year. Even the shallow tube wells pump drainage effluent. The drainage effluent is recycled and salts are not physically evacuated out of the area. When lands get degraded then what is the use of water. Moreover, Integrated Comprehensive Water Management is direly essential to save 40 to 50 maf of water that becomes drainage effluent.

I suggest inviting agricultural scientists from the PARC of the department of agriculture to study land management issue of the Indus basin and advise.

   

Engr Fateh ullah Khan  Gandapur.

Former Chairman IRSA

Copy for information to;

Engr Riaz Ahmad Khan, Advisor, WAPDA, Lahore. As desired, I have submitted the financial proposal to implement the four pivotal dams, not known to WAPDA, and ignored from vision 2025. Arranging to finance these projects is a great job. I therefore pray to Allah to create circumstances for the implementation of these projects.  

Chairman IRSA Islamabad. IRSA consists of five high ranking engineers, therefore I suggest, IRSA will play vital role in building these dams to make more water available and implement Water Accord and store floodwater that goes waste to sea.

E M.H. Siddiqi, consultant, Punjab irrigation department, Lahore.

 I appreciate his findings. M.H. Siddiqi has rightly pointed out that 40% water is reduced in the existing canal system. This needs Integrated Comprehensive Water Management.  He rightly warned not to play politics in implementing these dams but to evaluate the projects on their merits and demerits. He therefore suggested hiring an international neutral water expert to prioritized the construction of proposed dam site. The Chair also endorsed the proposal.     

 

Encl:  Proposal to finance unique multipurpose dams to support…( three pages)