Land reclassification delays Tarlac dam works

SAN JOSE, Tarlac: The dream of local residents (Tarlaqueños) to have more than 34,000 hectares of their agricultural lands irrigated through a multi-billion-peso dam project hangs until the Sangguniang Bayan (SB or municipal - tion site for the families that will be displaced.

out that for the project to be realized, the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) has to apply Barangay Sula where around 970 families from Barangay Maamot would be relocated.

- tion, we at the SB could then make a move to re-classify the area from agricultural to residential land so the displaced families could easily transfer there,” said Councilor Eliezer Dupitas.

such application, Dupitas added, even if they have already built housing units for would be displaced families to make way for the dam project. “This is a form of by-passing the SB,” he added.

“We are not against development. We just want to follow the process,” Dupitas stressed, noting that even Mayor Jose Yap Jr. is open his constituents but without altering the environment.

Once opened, local officials the P13.37- billion Balog- Balog Multi-Purpose (BBMP) dam would submerge a huge part of the area that would endanger the lives of residents in nearby places, especially those who live within the host village, including indigenous peoples.

The mega dam, a 105.5-meter high with three cascading sections each at 25 meters high and a crest length of 1.4 kilometers, will have a storage capacity of 560 million cubic meters and occupy 28,076 hectares as watershed.

Amid these concerns, NIA gave the assurance that families to be affected by the project will be given assistance, particularly a “disturbance pay” and a resettlement site for their smooth relocation prior to the construction of BBMP.

The agency said that once completed, the megadam is expected to provide year-round irrigation to farmlands in the towns of Paniqui, Pura, Ramos, Victoria, Gerona, San Jose, La Paz, Capas, Concepcion and Tarlac City.

It is also aimed to uplift the lives of farmers, increase agricultural in low-lying areas.

The NIA pointed out that the dam is projected to increase rice production by nearly 178 percent from 126,480 metric tons to 350,980 metric tons that will support at least 23,000 farmers and the rice per capita consumption of the Tarlaqueños as well as provide - fected families.

The project would generate at least 43.5 megawatts of electricity through a hydro-electric facility, the NIA added.