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NEWS
UPDATE 2004 |
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INSPECTION:
"PRM
protests against IFI's impartiality." The Nation. 30 March
2004. |
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"...The
People'fs Rights Movement (PRM) delivered a symbolic letter of protest
to the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Monday, demanding that the
inspection panel for the Chashma Right Bank Irrigation Project adopt
a more transparent and impartial standards...." |
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INSPECTION:
Email
to the Secretariat of ADB Board Inspection Committee regarding ADB
Chashma Inspection Panel's Site Visit. 28 March 2004. |
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"...
I have not yet recieved any response from you on the following email
that I sent to you on March 25. In the case you fail to respond this
email by March 29 (tomorrow), I will have no choice except leaving
the project area on March 30..." |
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INSPECTION:
Email
to the Secretariat of ADB Board Inspection Committee regarding ADB
Chashma Inspection Panel's Site Visit. 25 March 2004. |
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"...Could
you clarify the nature and length of our involvement in your field
trip scheduled for the 31st March - 2nd April..." |
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CHASHMA:
NGO Visit to the
Asian Development Bank's Chashma Right Bank Irrigation Project (CRBIP)
in Pakistan. Bank
Information Center and Environmental Defense. March 2004. |
- NGO Visit
to the Asian Development Bank’s Chashma Right Bank Irrigation
Project (CRBIP) in Pakistan. Bank Information Center and Environmental
Defense, December 2004. pdf
version (338kb)
- Chashma
Trip Report Annexes. pdf
version. (408 KB)
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Abstract:
Communities affected by the Chashma Right Bank Irrigation project
(CRBIP III) in Pakistan have had their land taken without compensation;
have suffered from floods exacerbated by the project’s design failures;
and have endured the loss of drinking water schemes, crops, cultivable
land, and access to health facilities. In November 2002, project-affected
villagers filed an Inspection request with the ADB. However, the
inspection process was delayed to allow time for the Grievance Redress
and Settlement Committee (GRSC), a mechanism designed by the ADB
and the Government of Pakistan, to address some of the concerns
of local people. In December 2003, representatives from community-based
and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Pakistan and the United
States visited the Chashma area to document recent flooding impacts
and to gather information regarding the performance of the GRSC.
Despite the clear emphasis on consultation, participation, and transparency
in the GRSC’s Terms of Reference (TOR), NGO representatives found
that villagers knew little about its work, much less had received
"redress" from the GRSC. The report shows that although
the GRSC’s mandate had nearly ended and most of its recommendations
were supposed to have been implemented by the end of 2003, the GRSC
concluded its work without any action having been taken on its recommendations.
The NGO representatives found there is no clear plan for follow-up
or monitoring.
After the disappointing
performance of the GRSC, the report explains that the role of the
ADB’s inspection panel is especially critical. The report recommends
that the inspection be carried out independently and without constraining
conditions imposed by the ADB or the Government, so that it may
provide a long-awaited assessment of ADB’s due diligence and project
management performance in Chashma. >>> BIC's
website
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LBOD:
Letter of demand delievered
to World Bank Islamabad office by the members of Save Coast Action
Committee during their token hunger strike. pdf
version (55kb). 16 March 2004.
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The
11 community members of Save Coast Action Committee including 11 year
girl and two women traveled from Badin a coastal town of Pakistan
to observe hunger strike in front of World Bank against the National
Drainage Program and technical problems of Left Bank Outfall Drainage
(LBOD). LBOD has caused serious damage to the livelihood and ecology
of coast. Community members presented following letter to World Bank
Country Director and demanded full reparation of LBOD affected people
and suspension of National Drainage Program Loan. |
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INSPECTION:
Email
to the Secretariat of ADB Board Inspection Committee regarding ADB
Chashma Inspection Panel's Site Visit. 14 March 2004. |
"...I
am also pleased that the permission from the Government was granted
unconditionally. According to the original work plan as psoted on
the ADB website, it was suggested that the panel could visit the project
site twice. If the government granted the permission unconditionally,
the reason of droping the possibility of second visit as well as the
recultance in coinciding the panel visit with Lok Sath is not understandable
to me. As a matter of transparency, I would like to demand the disclosure
of the correspondence between the government and the Bank..."
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INSPECTION:
Panel's TOR disclosed.
Panel will be visiting Pakistan for 2 days, 26-27 March 2004. |
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INSPECTION:
Email
to the Secretariat of ADB Board Inspection Committee regarding conditions
of ADB Chashma Inspection Panel's Site Visit. 12 March 2004. |
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"...You
have so far not responded to my question whether the permission from
the government was granted conditional or unconditional. If this is
conditional, please then disclose the conditions..." |
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CHASHMA:
Email
to ADB Management regarding Agentive Role of ADB Consultants in Katehrewali
Village. 8 March 2004. |
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"...I
have always been saying that ADB痴 consultants play agentive role while
they engage with local communities in the project area. There are
a number of such incidents in the past. However, the recent incident
that happened in Katehrewali village is an extreme one and much more
exposing the role of ADB痴 consultants..." |
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INSPECTION:
Email
to the Secretariat of ADB Board Inspection Committee regarding conditions
of ADB Chashma Inspection Panel's Site Visit. 10 March 2004. |
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"...Is
this permission unconditional? If conditional, then I would like to
demand that these conditions should be disclosed. Such disclosure
will only ensure the informed participation of inspection requesters
and local communities in the inspection process..." |
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GRSC:
Email
to the Secretariat of ADB Board Inspection Committee regarding falsehood
in ADB Management's Report on the GRSC. 19 February 2004.
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"..The
Management's report on the GRSC is nothing but a bundle of lies. Many
such lies in the Management's report can be easily exposed. Partcilarly,
the complaints filed by local communities to the GRSC can be very
instrumental in exposing such flasehood. I would just like to give
two example..." |
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CHASHMA:
Email
to ADB Management regarding Finance of Chashma Environmental Management
Plan through National Drainage Program. 13 February 2004. |
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"...I
am unable to understand why ADB is interested to finance the Chashma
Environmental Management Plan through National Drainage Program. The
fact is that about 20% of total chashma loan (ADB Loan No.1146-PAK)
is undisbursed while the project is completed. The undisbursed loan
amount is more than the total budget of Chashma Environmental Management
Plan. While, on the other hand, the ADB does not seem to be prepared
to comply with social and environmental guidelines as agreed under
the NDP loan agreement..." |
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LBOD:
"Poor Affectees
of Left Bank Out Fall Drainage (LBOD) Project in Badin Pakistan: Speak-Up
for their Survival." pdf
version (224kb). html
version.
Mustafa Talpur, Action Aid Pakistan. |
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"...These
people are affectees of mega drainage project initiated by WAPDA in
1984-85 and ended in 2001 with the cost of about 30 billion rupees.
World Bank, Asian Development Bank and other international financial
institutions funded the project. This is a huge network of drains,
tube wells cover three districts i.e Nawabshah, Mirpurkhas and Sangher.
All the saline effluent pumped by tube wells transported by main drain
and supposed to be disposed in Arabian Sea at coast of Badin. But
unfortunately due to wrong technical design these drains do not deliver
accordingly. Thus this is a worst example of development project in
which thousands of poor people of Badin coast are losing their livelihood
sources, villages and agriculture land. This is also a worst case
of planning and implementation of development project by policy makers
and international financial institutions, which clearly make some
better off and others worse off. Why development does not work in
Pakistan, is it not a reason that we produce some results at certain
places while drain out all those benefits at other places and in aggregate
figures we don't make any difference in national income. These kinds
of projects are not the real cause of income inequality and poverty.
Who is responsible for this project- induced poverty, displacement
and permanent loss of livelihood sources of poor and declining of
environment on which these groups survive." |
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EVENTS:
March 13,
2004
One day conference under the theme of "Economic, social and
environemtal implication of IFIs' water investment in pakistan."
Organized jointly by ActionAid, Sungi Development Foundation and
Sustainable Development Policy Institute.
March 15,
2004
Hunger Strike by LBOD/NDP project affectees and Chashma Lok Sath
infront of World Bank and Asian Development Bank Offices.
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CHASHMA
& NDP: Email
to ADB Management regarding Environmental and Social Problems in Badin
District, Pakistan by Left Bank Outfall Drainage Project (National
Drainage Program). 30January 2004. Mustafa Talpur, Action Aid
Pakistan. |
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"...In
nutshell the environmental consequence of LBOD are so severe that
people of the area have lost all of their livelihood sources and now
their lives are at risk. Since the start of project local communities
have been protesting against this ill-concieved project but thier
voices have not been heard. Despite these facts, the financier including
world bank and Asian development bank have not only failed to address
these issues but are financing National Drainage program under which
more saline effluent will be transported through these drains. I think
bringing more effluent will be death warrant for ecology, environment
and people of the coastal area. I am wondering to know whether the
concerns of people have been incorporated in the environmental management
plan of LBOD/NDP? What the experts are cooking and how they are planning
to drain out extra effluent through existing system which no more
works..." |
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Email
to ADB Management regarding the Relationship between Environmental
Management Plan and National Drainage Program. 29 January 2004.
Chashma Inspection Requester. |
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"...We
would like to know the opinion of the Bank Management whether the
NDP loan covenant (paragraph 22 to Schedule 5 of the Loan Agreement)
and other social and environmental guidelines given in the loan agreement
are applicable to social and environmental issues of the Chashma Irrigation
Project or not. I am here specifically referring to the social and
environmental issues that we have raised in our inspection claim.
So far as the newly agreed Chashma Management Plan (January 2004)
is concerned, it has nothing to do with the environmental and social
issues that have been raised in our inspection claim..." |
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CHASHMA:
Email
to ADB Management regarding Environmental Management Plan and National
Drainage Program. 25 January 2004. Chashma Inspection Requester. |
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"You
have invited me in your last email dated January 18, 2004, to attend
the multi-stakeholders workshop on the Chashma Environmental Management
Plan (EMP). I have also received the revised (and abridged??) copy
of the Chashma Environmental Plan (January 2004) from the Environmental
Cell of Water and Development Authority (WAPDA), along with a covering
letter in which I have been invited to comment upon the plan. However,
there is no mention in the letter about the stakeholders workshop
that you have mentioned in your email..." |
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INSPECTION:
Email
to the Secretariat of ADB Board Inspection Committee regarding Concerns
on final TOR for Chashma inspection panel. 19 January 2004.
Chashma Inspection
Requester. |
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"I acknowledge
the receipt of final terms of reference for the Chashma inspection
panel dated February 3, 2004. After reviewing the document very
carefully, the following are the serious concerns:
1-Inspection,
Chashma Environmental Management Plan and NDP...
2: Inspection
and ADB Policy on Confidentiality and Information Disclosure...
3. Supplementary
Financing and Inspection Scope...
4: Participation of the Inspection Panel in Chashma Lok Sath...
5: Filing
the selected complaints of local persons submitted to the GRSC...
6: Technical
Review of the Project...
... Last
but not least, the inspection process has so far not yielded into
any positive change from the perspective of local communities. If
our comments are not taken seriously and responded positively, we
will be compelled to think that the ADB is only interested to use
the inspection process in its own benefits as it is so far the case.
We will be compelled to conclude that these are not policies that
should be complied, reformed and changed. Rather, our efforts require
changing the Heart and Soul. And you know very well that change
in Heart and Soul is only possible through offering sacrifices,
experiencing sufferings and offering love in return to ridicule
and oppression. "
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INSPECTION:
Email
to the Secretariat of ADB Board Inspection Committee regarding Scope
of Inspection and Lack of Transparency. 19 January 2004.
Mushtaq Gadi.
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"...You
asked me why we have not yet filed our comments on the terms of reference
for the chashma inspection panel? My reply to your question was as
follows: One, we have serious disagreement with the language and content
of the terms of references. We believe that the inspection panel should
be independent in deciding the scope of inspection and policy compliance..." |
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INSPECTION:
Email
to the Secretariat of ADB Board Inspection Committee regarding Scope
of Inspection and Lack of transparency. 12 January 2004.
Chashma
Inspection Requester.
"...Before
we decide to send our comments, we want to know whether our comments
will be posted on ADB website or not. As you know since we filed our
claim we have been demanding information disclosure and transparency.
Unfortunately, our experience in this regard is very bitter and disappointing.
Almost all important project documents have not yet been disclosed.
Moreover, we would also like to make it very clear in the beggining
that we don't agree with the suggested inspection scope as determined
by the Board Inspection Committee (BIC). Rather, we believe that the
inspection panel should have freedom to determine the scope of policy
compliance itself..." |
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ADB's
loan closing date extended:
ADB's loan closing date for Chashma Irrigation Project
has been extended to 31 December 2004. Prior to this extension, the
date for loan closing was scheduled for 31 December 2003. Chashma
Inspection Requesters and NGOs have been asserting that the ADB loan
should not close before the problems that the project have caused
upon people and environment are addressed. |
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CHASHMA:
Email to ADB
Management regarding Information Disclosure. 5 January 2004. |