Who we are

Ghazi Barotha Taraqiati Idara (GBTI) a Development Organization was registered as a project non-profit organization in October 1995 under section 42 of Companies Ordinance of 1984.

The background to its establishment and the experiences since then are quite different from the other rural support programmes. In Pakistan Load shedding (brown out) is common and people face hours of interrupted supply of electricity on an almost daily basis. It is simply a reflection of the wide gap between supply and demand for this form of energy. One reason is simply the shortage of power-generating facilities in the country. The other is gross mismanagement of the distribution network. In the late 1980s the required additional generating capacity was estimated at 7,000 to 9,000 MW by 2005. Although significant private sector thermal generating capacity was anticipated between 1995 and 2000. Additional hydropower capacity was also required. It is in this context that the Ghazi Barotha Hydropower Project (GBHP) was identified. Intended to support the country’s least-cost development programme for expanding electricity generation, enhancing reliability of power supply and improving the power system control. GBHP was set up in the public sector by WAPDA a government-owned utility.

The project was designed to divert water from the Indus at Ghazi in Haripur district, about 7 km downstream from the Tarbela dam to a 52 km long concrete-lined channel. The channel was then to transport the water to a power plant at Barotha in Attock district. The power plant had five units of 290 MW each to generate 6,600 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of power annually. The intention was to exploit the 74m of hydraulic head available in the 63 km stretch between the tailrace of the Tarbela dam and the confluence of the Indus and the Haro rivers with no additional demand on the precariously scarce water resources of the surrounding country.

The objective of the project was to meet the demand for electricity in Pakistan by generating hydropower with minimal environmental and resettlement impacts. GBHP was completed in ten years (1994-2003) at a cost of about $2bn. It has three main components: a barrage at Ghazi, about seven kilometre downstream from Tarbela, with a 71mm² storage capacity; a 52 km long lined channel from Ghazi to Barotha: and a power complex at Barotha with 1,450 MW generating capacity. The power transmission lines to the national grid system have also been installed. GBHP is a run-of-the-river project with far less environmental and social impact than is often associated with large dams and reservoirs. The project was co-financed by the World Bank. Asian Development Bank. Japan Bank for International Cooperation. Kreditanstalt fur Widcruutbau (KfW-Germany), European investment Bank. Islamic Development Bank and WAPDA (Pakistan). The project experienced unexpected delays in its construction because of several factors including shortfalls in counterpart funds and disputes with labour, contractors, and the project affected population (PAP) concerned with land acquisition, compensation, and resettlement.

The implementation plan for the project included mitigation measures for the protection of the environment and a Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) to address the issues of land acquisition, payment of compensation for land, income and assets, relocation of houses and resettlement of people affected by the project.

The environmental measures included: (i) continuously releasing a minimum of 28 cubic meters per second of water from the barrage so as not to have any impact on the downstream ecosystems and riverine conditions: (ii) implementing a monitoring programme for water quality and the local flora and fauna downstream of the barrage: (iii) providing a drainage system under the channel to minimize seepage losses and adverse effects on the local groundwater levels: and (iv) Implementing safety measures for the power channel.

According to the environmental assessment reports the project has met its expectations. In the context of the social impact of GBHP, given the sad experiences of other projects.

WAPDA and co-financers, led by the World Bank, decided that a Project Non-Governmental Organisation (PNGO) should be established to: (i) assist the 55 villages in Attock, Haripur and Swabi districts affected by the project to find appropriate and fair solutions to compensate the households for the appropriation of their land and to agree acceptable resettlement plans: and (ii) provide support through participatory organizations to enable the affected communities to raise their living standards.

In 1994. WAPDA signed a Memorandum of Understanding with NRSP to give support to the affected communities and help to establish the proposed PNGO. According to the agreement. NRSP together with community participation, a survey of 48 villages conducted in the project area prepared village profiles put in place” team of social organisers and other specialists and familiarised them with the project and its area, land records and rules governing the ownership and transfer of land, and prepared an integrated regional development plan (IRDP) for the PNGO to carry on the development work through participatory organisations to be formed by affected communities in the project area. Consequently In October 1995, NRSP registered the PNGO as Ghazi Barotha Taraqiati Idara under the Companies Ordinance of 1984 and GBHP WAPDA provided Rs.100m to PNGO as an endowment fund and Rs.99.376m to implement IRDP.

In view of socio-political challenges, WAPDA recognized that to implement an effective Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) in the GBHP Project area, WAPDA would require the assistance of a specialized organization in interfacing with affected communities to resolve the most intricate issues of land compensation and other resettlement matters.

WAPDA also envisage and the opportunity to ensure that the local communities benefit from compensation and other resettlement matters. WAPDA also envisage and opportunity to ensure that the local communities benefit from the construction of GBHP Project in a long-term and all-round way and not by way of piecemeal compensation. These tasks could best be carried out only with the active participation of the communities. The communities can also ensure sustainability of project gains, overtime. Clearly, in carrying out these specialized tasks, the communities need a long-term partnership with a body that can provide the required organizational support.