World Bank team to assess complaints over compensation, land devaluation and safety risks linked to Dasu transmission line

A World Bank Inspection Panel delegation is due in Pakistan from November 2 to 10 to review whether concerns raised by residents near the Dasu transmission route merit a formal inquiry. The panel will examine issues involving compensation, falling land values, community safety and how project information was shared; its visit is an eligibility review, not a decision to launch an investigation.

The case concerns a 255-kilometre, 765-kilovolt line intended to carry power from the first phase of the Dasu hydropower project to Islamabad West, with a substation planned at Mansehra. Fifteen people from two Punjab villages say construction limits in the line’s corridor have curtailed land use and affected plans for homes and a dairy farm, while compensation is insufficient. The delegation also plans discussions with government bodies, the National Grid Company and other project stakeholders.