HYDERABAD: Sindh government is likely to move federal government and the Council of Common Interests (CCI) to further the outgoing caretaker government’s objection on the issuance of water availability certificate by the Indus River System Authority (Irsa) allowing creation of a new command area to irrigate desert lands of ‘Smaller Cholistan’ in south Punjab.

The certificate was issued on January 17 and the then caretaker Sindh CM, Justice Maqbool Baqar, on Jan 29 approached caretaker PM Anwarul Haq Kakar with request to defer consideration of the project till an elected government is in office [following the Feb 8 general elections].

Now when the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has formed its government in Sindh, officials are said to be preparing to take up the matter with the federal government or invoke jurisdiction of the CCI, the highest constitutional forum to settle Indus water issues among provinces.

Sindh has lately reacted against appointment of Zafar Mahmood, a pro-Kalabagh dam expert, as the non-member Irsa chairman by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The notification, however, was withdrawn by the PM on Jan 14, i.e. within 48 hours of its issuance as the PM had apparently no idea of how the incoming Sindh government would react to his decision.

Certification for command area to irrigate Cholistan lands seriously jeopardised Sindh’s water rights, federal govt told

Zafar’s appointment had come in the backdrop of an amendment to the Irsa Act, 1992 proposed through an ordinance by the caretaker government in 2023 despite reservations expressed in the cabinet by then federal minister for planning and development Sami Saeed.

Besides this amendment to the Irsa Act, Sindh had objected to the Irsa decision to issue the certificate. The decision was taken with a majority of 4-1.

Ehsan Leghari, the newly appointed Sindh member in Irsa, had written a two-page dissenting note on it mentioning that the “additional flows for new water project like this one can only be ascertained when requirement of downstream Kotri barrage, as per para-7 of Water Accord, are met”.

He said it might be argued that it was an internal matter of Punjab’s irrigation department. “But it has to be substantiated otherwise it is obvious that water for proposed project will be taken in addition to established water rights of Punjab’s share. This will impact flows to Sindh (and Balochistan) at crucial time (for early Kharif) hence Sindh will suffer,” Mr Leghari wrote.

Rs75bn link canals project

Punjab plans to draw water for developing new command area in Cholistan through the project of link canals like Rasul-Qadirabad, Qadirabad-Baloki and Baloki-Sulemanki canals for which it had been issued the ‘canal area development (CAD)’ certificate by Irsa.

According to a PowerPoint presentation seen by Dawn, the project has an estimated cost of Rs75bn and designed to ensure rehabilitation and upgrading of these link canals to enhance availability of water at Sulemanki.

The feeder channel from Sulemanki headworks will feed lands in Bahawalnagar and Bahawalpur districts with a gross command area of 696,651 acres and cultivate a command area of 610,237 acres along with a designed capacity of 4,122 cusecs through ‘flood supply channel’.

‘Sindh was kept in the dark’

Earlier, Sindh caretaker government had informed then-PM Kakar that issuance of certificate by Irsa was done covertly and abruptly without sharing any such information with Sindh. Punjab’s share, according to former caretaker CM’s Jan 29 communication, is already allocated to the existing canal systems. The maximum water utilisation by Punjab during Kharif was 37.7MAF during 2007 against the allocation of 37.67 MAF under the 1991 Water Accord which means that existing canal capacity of Punjab is more than its allocations under the accord.

Former caretaker CM Justice Baqar had conveyed to then-PM that the Jan 17 certification grossly jeopardised Sindh’s water rights, and urged him on behalf of the people of Sindh to defer any consideration of the matter until formation of an elected government. He asserted that it was a matter clearly beyond the mandate of caretaker government and was bound to create social and economic unrest among citizens [in Sindh].

Greater Thal Canal Phase-II

Punjab is also executing the Greater Thal Canal (GTC) Phase-II under which three canals — Mankera, Dhengna and Chaubara — are to be built. Sindh had objected to this project as well and the province’s then member in the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (Ecnec) had urged the Asian Development Bank (ADB) not to finance the project.

Wapda’s ‘dubious’ move

In an earlier note prepared by the Sindh caretaker government which was to be sent to the federal government, it was noted that despite insufficient water available in the system to meet existing canals’ command needs, Wapda had proposed development of a new command area with regulated flows of Jhelum and Chenab rivers.

“We are told that Punjab will be providing water to new canal commands after adjusting water flows from the province’s existing canals. Sindh wants Punjab to submit details of those canals whose water will be diverted to new command area so that everyone knows that it is an internal adjustment within Punjab’s own flows available to it,” said a senior irrigation officer of Sindh. “It has been seen previously that Punjab starts projects from its end despite the fact that they remain controversial”.

Sindh’s protests ignored

The GTC Phase-I was executed during Gen Musharraf’s regime in early 2000 amidst Sindh’s protests and now Phase-II is being taken in hand by Punjab. GTC takes off from Chashma-Jhelum link canal with a 35km length of main canal along with 342km-long five-branch canal system and having a total discharge of 8,500 cusecs with 1.739m acres command area in Khushab, Bhakkar, Layyah and Jhang districts.

Published in Dawn, March 21st, 2024