Diamer-Basha Dam Royalty Issue

Published in The News
Diamer-Basha Dam royalty issue
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Afzal A Shigri

While addressing a public meeting in Gilgit on July 4, President Pervez Musharraf said that the Northern Areas (NA) would get royalty from the Diamer-Basha Dam. This historic statement puts to rest an issue of life and death for the NA. NWFP has been claiming royalty on the basis of doubtful interpretation of Article 161 (2) of the Constitution of Pakistan. This claim was based on location of the hydroelectric station in the province. The interpretation completely overlooked the spirit of this constitutional provision that is primarily meant to compensate the area that is adversely affected by flooding of fields and villages that takes place when such a facility for storage of water is created. Despite agitation by the people of the NA no one was prepared to address this matter. During the earlier visits of the President and the Prime Minister to the site of the dam, this subject had been ignored, causing despair amongst the people of the NA.

The July 4 statement of the president on the just and lawful rights of the people of NA will be remembered with gratitude by the people of the region. There is, however, a genuine concern that despite this commitment, given the brutal political environment of Pakistan where the big fish devour the small fish, every effort will be made to stop the implementation of this decision.

Before the legal parameters are determined to safeguard the interests of the area that will bear the brunt of displacement and negative environmental effects, it is fitting to recall and reiterate the basis on which NA is claiming royalty. Their demand was based on the interpretation of the Constitution in its true spirit -- i.e. the benefit should accrue to the people who are affected by the construction of a dam. In this case, large areas of Chilas will be flooded, displacing thousands of people and causing unforeseen environmental changes. Secondly, hydro-electric station cannot mean only the powerhouse where the electricity is generated -- it must include the entire structures that are essential to produce electricity.

Thirdly, the areas of Harban, Shitial, Sazin and Jalkot, for that matter all Shina speaking population in the vicinity of Chilas, had been part of the Gilgit Agency (NA) till 1950 when these areas were incorporated in the Kohistan district of NWFP without any legal basis. This has been concluded by Prof. Ahmad Hassan Dani, an eminent historian in his book History of Northern Areas of Pakistan. His findings are based on Letter No. 381 of 1913 from Mr. S. M. Fraser, resident in Kashmir, to Lt.Col. Sir George Roose-Keppel, Chief Commissioner of Peshawar, and letter No. Y 103/27 dated January 12, 1928, from the resident in Kashmir to Col. C. P. Gunter, director of Frontier Circle, Survey of India. These officials have clearly stated that these areas were part of Gilgit Agency.

A further research from the archives of the federal government and NWFP will reveal the manner in which this rather unlawful annexation was done which is in conflict with the stated stand of the Foreign Office. There is, therefore, a case for re-demarcation of the boundaries and restoration of these areas to the NA. This will ensure that in future, NWFP will not lay any claim to the royalty of the dam. It will also help the Foreign Office in their much-trumpeted UN resolution of plebiscite by adding more voters for the plebiscite if the UN becomes effective enough to implement its resolutions.