ISLAMABAD, March 13: Representatives of the People’s Party Parliamentarians, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and a group of NGOs on Sunday opposed construction of mega dams in the country and asked international lenders not to finance such projects.

They were speaking at a conference jointly organized by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) and the Pakistan Network for Rivers, Dams and People (PNRDP) on the eve of an ‘International Day against Large Dams’.

Nobody from the pro-dam group, not even former Wapda chairman Shamsul Mulk who is the chairman of the SDPI board of governors, attended the meeting.

Syed Zafar Ali Shah, a PPP MNA, said that construction of large dams would be harmful for the integrity of the country. He said decisions regarding construction of dams were being taken without consulting the elected representatives and against the wishes of the people which could cause dismemberment of the country.

Nisar Ahmad Panhwar of the MQM said that construction of big dams was like committing suicide and allocating huge funds for the purpose was not a prudent economic decision. He said construction of any dam should not be initiated without first removing the concerns of the opponents of dams.

Sarwar Bari of the Pattan NGO said that rivers were like blood veins for the country and their blockade for constructing dams to store water was like blocking blood circulation. He said construction of big dams against the wishes of the people was a kind of terrorism because it would cause huge social and economic losses to people.

Former irrigation secretary of Sindh Idris Rajput said that there was no need for constructing new dams, as water was not available in rivers in sufficient quantity.

He said it was against common-sense economic wisdom to raise $5-20 billion for the construction of big dams without ensuring availability of sufficient water.

Participants of the conference adopted a resolution which called upon the government to involve common people in the decision-making process to ensure transparency.

The resolution suggested that in all the ongoing and future projects, an effective participation of local communities should be ensured. Before launching any such scheme, consultation with people should be held and a consensus should be evolved.

The conference demanded that water should be considered as a right and while designing any mega project, people’s basic rights of livelihood and development should be given due consideration.

The meeting said the environmental cost of large dams and other mega water-related development projects should be properly evaluated in the traditional cost-benefit analysis.

The conference endorsed the recommendations of the World Commission on Dams, suggesting that before building another mega dam the capacity of existing dams should be fully utilized.

The conference recommended that before building new dams, the inter-dependence of the complex river ecology should be properly studied and all factors taken into consideration which in long run create environmental problems.

It also recommended that before undertaking any major project the people affected by previous projects should be properly compensated and their economic rehabilitation should be ensured.