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Prime Minister Imran Khan will have to stay in power for a long time if he wants to see Diamer Bhasha and Mohmand dams built.
It will need more than the Pakistanis overseas to get the 1 450 billion rupees needed. So far, only Rs 2 billion has been raised since the fund's inception by the Chief Justice on July 6, which is 0.1% of the target.
Prime Minister Imran Khan made this appeal for donations two months after the opening of the fund on Friday, 7 September. Some people even posted evidence of their contributions, asking others to do their "national duty".
He wants Pakistanis living abroad to send at least $ 1,000 each.
Critics say the crowdsourcing of a mammoth infrastructure project is not the way governments are run. Some even demanded that the Prime Minister sell his lucrative Bani Gala mansion to donate to dams. Others have suggested paying the dams by recovering the "$ 200 billion" hidden in Swiss banks, which his party has enthusiastically talked about. Other people oppose the construction of dams in the first place.
Why do we need dams?
Pakistan is close to being a water poor country. According to the Pakistan Water Resources Research Council, it could be dry by 2025. This means that if we do not keep water, we could have a drought. There will not be enough water to drink, forget to grow and produce products in factories. A shortage of water will be a disaster for the economy.
To store water, we have to build the dams. Since the provinces were divided over the Kalabagh Dam, the government decided to build The dams of Diamer Bhasha and Mohmand, who have a political consensus.
How much will it cost?
1 450 billion rupees.
How much do we have so far?
As of September 8, the fund had received Rs 2 billion in donations. It still needs 1,448 billion rupees. Prime Minister Imran Khan said that he would get the money in five years.
You can follow in real time the amount that has been collected by visiting the Supreme Court website. website.
How can you pay?
If you are in Pakistan: You can pay at the counter of any branch of any bank in Pakistan.
You can pay through ATMs or online banking, using the IBAN (account number) fund PM-CJ. You can see this number on your bank's website and on your ATM screens.
You can contribute via your mobile phone by sending an SMS to 0800. Each SMS will result in a donation of Rs10.
You can pay in cash at remote banking agents such as UBL Omni. You will receive an SMS alert confirming your donation.
If you are outside Pakistan: You can submit donations to Pakistan's consulates and embassies.
You can deposit donations at branches abroad of Pakistani banks (NBP, HBL, UBL, etc.).
You pay by debit and credit cards to the account of the State Bank of Pakistan. website
You can ask your bank (foreign bank where you have your account) to donate to the State Bank of Pakistan. The details you need can be found in a circular available on the SBP home page.
What do the critics say?
Given the seriousness of the problem, the intentions of the Chief Justice and the Prime Minister should be appreciated and the efforts of Pakistanis at home and abroad commended for their generous contributions. However, there seems to be some disagreement about how the project is funded and whether the construction of a huge dam is the only solution.
An argument against the PM-CJ fund: the government can raise only Rs60 billion in five years at the current rate, Rs33 million per day.
Even this is doubtful because the momentum created by the Prime Minister's call will not last long. In other words, this fund could suffer the same fate as the "qarz utaro mulk sanwaro"Nawaz Sharif Program or President Pervez Musharraf's" President's Relief Fund ".
The second argument is not against the fund itself, but against the dam itself. Hassan Abbas, expert in water resources, argues that Pakistan does not need a mega dam, but a mega vision. He says that our natural system contains enough water and that global warming will result in increased precipitation and increased water supply.
Abbas says our system has 145 million square feet (MAF) of water a year. Agriculture needs 50 CRG, the industry needs 10 CRG while household consumption is 17 MAF. We have twice as much water as we need, but there is only one problem: most of it is only available in the monsoon.
What is the problem then?
- Waste by the agricultural sector
- Pollution of water resources, making our rivers and aquifers unsuitable for use
- Mismanagement and corruption
Dams will not solve any of these three problems. In addition, they are expensive, destructive to the environment and their construction takes years. In addition to that, they have a limited shelf life because they silt.
Do critics have a solution?
Abbas says we need equivalent dams. Unlike a large dam, these are small interventions in a water system and do the same thing as a large dam. However, they do not have the same disadvantages as large dams.
How it works?
Abbas says our 3,500-kilometer river system has 42 canals, which consume 95% of our water. Equivalent dams can be installed on each of these channels.
He says the first intervention can divert water to farmers with modern irrigation methods. It gives the example of a dam equivalent in the Rohri Canal, which attracts 8.5 million French francs from the Indus River.
This will reduce waste and water supplies.
The second intervention can divert some of this spared water to Karachi.
The third intervention will create a navigation channel between Kotri and the open sea, which can help people make a living.
Dam equivalents are cheaper and more durable than large dams. They are faster to build and pay back more. The Rohri Canal alone has the potential to earn $ 36 billion, nearly 12 times what Kalabagh Dam would have earned, he said, referring to a study.
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