News Analysis |
The country needs to stand at 25 MAF (million acre-feet) of water and a new dam would be required every ten years after the construction of two new dams. The Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday directed Federal Government to immediately start construction of two dams.
The Apex court issued directives that the construction on Diamer-Bhasha and Mohmand dams should start immediately and also sought the report in three weeks. The four-member bench under the supervision of Chief Justice Saqib Nisar has declared their short verdict regarding construction of dams.
The court further directed to open the special account in the Apex court for generating funds regarding the construction. It has also appealed to the masses to donate funds in the aforementioned account.
It noted that the country’s needs to stand at 25 MAF of water and a new dam would be required every ten years after the construction of two new dams. The court then ordered to immediately begin construction of the two dams.
Earlier during his briefing, ex Wapda chairman Shamsul Mulk said that while 46,000 dams had been constructed in the past century across the globe, Pakistan had only constructed three. India had constructed 4000 dams and China constructed 22,000 dams, he added.
He said that Pakistan is facing an acute shortage of dams and added that immediate construction of dams should be started. “We should have confidence in ourselves,” the CJP said, adding: “It is possible that we get more money than the required amount.”
Read more: “I have no political agenda,” says CJP Nisar
The Indus River System Authority (IRSA) briefed the court that the country had a storage capacity of 13.7 million acre feet (MAF) of the 138 MAF of water flowing into the country.
The briefing said that the construction of two more dams will generate a capacity to store additional 7 MAF of water. It noted that the country’s needs to stand at 25 MAF of water and a new dam would be required every ten years after the construction of two new dams. The court then ordered to immediately begin construction of the two dams.