Conclusion

The average rural Pakistani, in general, loses out in the scheme of mega-dam projects. So who wins? The Punjabi political elite that has captured a foreign aid market for itself and First World “allies” who funnel millions of dollars towards Pakistan’s “development”. Foreign companies are another big winner in this situation, earning millions of dollars worth of contracts. Meanwhile the World Bank serves as a platform for the political and business elite of the world to capture and maintain their interests.

The interests of these elite groups are political, which in the context of the Tarbela Dam can be understood in three ways. The control over Indus Rivers through the construction of this dam was used as a political bargaining chip; as an excuse for aid-imperialism; and as a national top-down structure. The elites vested interests around the Tarbela Dam are also largely economic. The international dam industry is hugely profitable, with a value of 20 billion dollars a year. And the beneficiaries are the same everywhere, as Arundhathi Roy a social activist for the most marginalized Indians states in her famous essay, The Greater Common Good:

If you follow the trails of big dams the world over, wherever you go—China, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, Brazil, Guatemala—you’ll rub up against the same story, encounter the same actors: the Iron Triangle (dam jargon for the nexus between politicians, bureaucrats and dam construction companies), the racketeers who call themselves International Environmental Consultants (who are usually directly employed by or subsidiaries of dam builders), and, more often than not, the friendly, neighbourhood World Bank.

By working as a network to assist in each others greed for money and political power, this global elite circle creates adversity and environmental havoc for the masses, particularly for those who are politically marginalized. They disguise profit making as national development, which often comes at the cost of destruction of livelihood, homes, and a way of life of those at the very bottom.