RESETTLEMENT AND REHABILITATION OF PEOPLE AFFECTED BY DIAMER BASHA DAM

Abstract

The current research has analyzed the resettlement and rehabilitation of people affected by the Diamer Basha Dam. The project was proposed in the year 1980 and after 40 years, Pakistan has signed a deal with the Chines owned firm to construct a Dam worth PKR-442 billion which is equal to $ 3.7 billion, and the height of the Dam is 272-metre. The total cost of the Dam is plagued at around PKR-1.497 trillion which is equal to $12.15 billion. The total population of the district Diamer is around 12039 households where among these total populations, almost 4228 households have been affected directly and indirectly. These people have dispersed into 20 different villages where they faced cultural issues, traditions, faced caste system issues, etc. For resettlement and rehabilitation purposes, an amount of Rs. 27 billion is required for land acquisition and resettlement of the displaced people who are affected in the wake of the construction of Dam. Under this project almost Rs. 10.76 billion for spending to purchase the barren and agricultural land, trees, and nurseries and Rs. 1.638 billion of the amounts was spent for the properties and infrastructure development and Rs. 8.8 billion amounts were spent on the establishment of nine model villages for the displaced people. Moreover, Rs. 62,119 million of the amounts has been paid for pays and allowances for the administrative arrangements and Rs. 17.7 million of the amounts have been allocated for contingent administrative expenses. Furthermore, this project also included an escalation cost of Rs. 2.334 billion amounts at the rate of 6% for five years and the interest rate of this amount would be Rs. 4.309 billion sums during the implementation stages with the rate of 9% respectively. The qualitative research approach has been selected, and designed interview guide to collect the data through face-to-face in-depth interviews. Major themes have been designed and wrote the interviews under the respective themes. The head of the household was interviewed. The findings of the research showed that the government has just given half of the compensation amount. Although, the government has arranged some of the villages for their resettlement purpose. Similarly, rehabilitation is also going on in the respective villages. Many non-governmental organizations along with the government to rehabilitate people especially children and females through education and skill development programs. Further, the government and non-governmental organizations need to invest in the social capital of the displaced people of the region. Keywords: Resettlement, Rehabilitation, Gilgit-Baltistan, Diamer, NGOs, Government, WAPDA, Dam, Qualitative.