FAZAL SHER

ISLAMABAD: Despite passage of over 42 years, 70 percent of Tarbela Dam affectees have not been allotted land yet, while the remaining 30 percent who were allotted substitution land are still facing residential and other problems.

Representing Tarbela Dam affectees at the National Assembly Standing Committee on Human Rights, one Ejaz Ahmed Khan said that 70 percent Tarbela Dam affectees were still deprived of their rights as they were living in miserable condition.

The meeting was chaired by MNA Babar Nawaz.

He said that 82,000 acres of land were acquired for the construction of Tarbela Dam Project and over 96,000 people from 120 villages were displaced, and only 30,000 acres were allotted to the affectees in Punjab, but no land had been allotted in Sindh province as promised under the resettlement plan.

Khan said that compensation was not given to the affected persons like peasants, landless fishermen, boatmen and gold extractors. It was stated that the resettlement policy laid before the government may be introduced.

The committee directed the officials of Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) to present the complete record of Tarbela Dam affectees in the next meeting.

The affectees of Warsak Dam also attended the meeting and they informed the parliamentary body that the real owners of the land get electricity for only two hours a day.

One Arbab Sheryar Khan while representing the affectees of Warsak Dam said that no scheme or policy was formed to rehabilitate the affectees. He said that according to the agreement signed by the government, it was bound to provide electricity and jobs to the affected families but the promise had not been fulfilled.

Committee's Chairman Babar Nawaz said the Wapda had installed electricity meters in the areas of resettled community, while the people were regularly receiving electricity bills. The committee members expressed serious anger over availability of electricity for only two hours in the resettled community.

The Wapda officials informed the meeting that they followed the government orders in both cases, adding that best efforts were afoot to avoid violation of human rights. The committee issued directives to Wapda officials to present 10 years' record of appointments in basic pay scale 1-2 from Warsak, tribal areas and Mohmand Agency in the next meeting. The committee also decided to visit the areas of Warsak and Tarbela Dams' affected persons along with the Wapda officers.

Earlier, a presentation was made by the representatives of the Pakistan Institute for Parliamentary Services regarding the proposed National Action Plan (NAP) on business and human rights. They said the action plan dealt with the links between business and citizens' human rights, an issue that had been endorsed by the United Nations.

The meeting was also attended by MNAs Sahibzada Muhammad Yaqub, Syed Essa Nori, Begum Tahira Bukhari, Surrayya Asghar, Kiran Haider, Zahra Wadood Fatemi, Amra Khan, Dr Shazia Sobia, Musarat Rafique Mahesar, Kanwar Naveed Jameel, Aliya Kamran Murtaza and Naseema Hafeez, and senior officers from the Ministry of Human Rights and Ministry of Water and Power.