GILGIT: Affectees of Diamer-Bhasha Dam have launched a large-scale protest movement against Wapda for its failure to pay compensation promised to them for leaving their lands for the dam’s construction.
The movement — Haqooq Do, Dam Banao Tehreek — demands the clearance of pending payments under the ‘Chula Package’, which entitles every affected family to financial assistance before departure from their houses acquired for the Dasu hydropower project.
Hundreds of people from 43 villages affected by the Diamer-Bhasha Dam gathered at the Chilas Airport runway on Sunday and launched the protest movement. The protest saw participation from local community leaders, scholars, student organizations, village committees, and tribal elders.
During the protest, demonstrators took an oath on the Holy Quran, vowing that they would not back down from their demands nor succumb to any pressure.
Speaking on the occasion, a member of the movement’s organizing committee Sher Ahmed said that the affected communities had long been deprived of their due compensation. “We have initiated this movement to demand our legitimate rights,” he stated.
The charter of demands includes the disbursement of compensation for submerged lands as per the 2015 land survey and immediate financial relief under the Missing Chulha scheme for 2,900 displaced families. They demand a final settlement of compensation for the 18,000 acres of land acquired for the Diamer-Bhasha Dam.
Sher Ahmed emphasized that the full royalty of the Diamer-Bhasha Dam and 50% of the Dasu Dam’s royalty must be allocated to Gilgit-Baltistan as 25 kilometers of the Dasu Dam’s affected area falls within the region.
“The water and land for these projects belong to us. It is our constitutional right to receive royalties,” he asserted.
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He lamented that despite sacrificing ancestral lands, homes, cultural heritage, and historical sites, the affected communities had been ignored. “Over 80,000 people have been left without compensation due to the authorities’ negligence,” he added.
G-B Minister Engineer Anwar lauded the unity among the people of Diamer, stating, “If the people of Diamer stand together, no one can deprive them of their rights.” Criticizing Wapda, he asserted that according to the law, compensation must be provided before any mega project is initiated. “However, despite the dam nearing completion, the affected people have yet to receive their due payments,” he added.
Other speakers condemned the government for repeatedly making false promises to the affected communities. They declared that this time, the protesters would not step back until their demands were met and a written assurance was provided.
A central committee was also formed to oversee the movement’s future course of action. Protesters warned that if their demands remained unmet, the demonstrations would be extended from Chilas Airport to the Karakoram Highway.
When contacted, Diamer-Bhasha Dam General Manager Nazakat Hussain said that he had heard about an inquiry conducted by the Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Secretary, which identified around 700 Chulhas and allegedly triggered the protest. However, he stated that he was not aware of the exact details, as such matters do not fall under his domain.
WAPDA’s General Manager (Human Resource Development, Land Acquisition, and Resettlement), retired Brigadier Shoaib Taqi, explaining the Chula (stove) term introduced for compensating the dam affectees, said that at the time of land acquisition for the project, the Chula scheme was introduced. Under this scheme, one household having a common cooking system was considered one Chula and was compensated accordingly. Over 4,000 households were compensated, amounting to over Rs 13 billion. The last compensation tranche was disbursed in 2015, but they are still living in their homes due to resettlement issues.
He said, however, they were supposed to be relocated to three model villages. WAPDA was tasked to provide basic facilities for living, while the Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) government was supposed to provide land, and the affectees were supposed to build their homes there and relocate. However, he said the government provided land for only one model village in Harban Das, where the model village was constructed, and people settled there. While the G-B government failed to acquire land for two model villages in Thak Das and Kino Das till 2019.
“Then we thought to work out some alternative and settle the issue through the deputy commissioner. After thorough consultation, a proposal was agreed upon,” he added. Taqi explained that under the new proposal, there were three options: first, giving them a 17-marla plot in the model villages; second, giving them the price of the plot, which is Rs 3.4 million; and third, giving them half a plot and half the price. He said people chose according to their feasibility options and signed affidavits, due to which issues of 2,500 people were settled in the first model village.
“It’s then when people started coming forward with claims that their brother, son, or other relatives were living in the same boundary wall but had separate cooking systems. At that time, the then deputy commissioner disbursed Rs 1.2 million additional across all affectees to settle the issue and cover the claims,” he claimed. “There were some people who got compensation for the house but not for Chula; then we decided to compensate them, from where the missing Chula term arose. Then more people came forward with claims, and the list rose to 13,000 Chulas.”
Then, he said, grievances committees and missing Chula committees were formed, and inquiries were begun. “Initially, the DC finalized a list which was cross-verified by the Diamer Division Commissioner in a personal hearing, in which intelligence agencies’ representatives were also present. GIS mapping through SUPARCO and satellite imagery was also used to determine the actual settlement erected before the land was acquired in 2007. A list of 798 people was finalized, and some 2,000 people are near finalization,” he added.
However, he said, there is no money for the payments to the new listed people, which amounts to Rs 9.1 billion. He said a revised PC-1 is required for this, which is finalized on rough estimates and yet to be approved. “The actual missing Chulas were not more than 250, but now around 3,000 are being added; hence, I call them additional Chulas, not missing Chulas,” he added.
The Diamer-Bhasha Dam is a concrete-filled gravity dam on the Indus River, located between Kohistan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Diamer district in Gilgit-Baltistan.
On May 13, 2020, the Pakistani government signed a Rs442 billion contract with a joint venture of China Power and Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) to construct the dam. Once completed, the dam is expected to generate 4,800 MW of affordable electricity through hydropower production.