ISLAMABAD: In an interesting move, the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) has quietly referred the Rs231 billion first phase of the Cholistan canal system project to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) for a decision on at least three major inter-provincial concerns.

The CDWP meeting, held on Oct 12 under the chairmanship of Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, has yet to officially announce its decisions. However, an official said the upcoming Ecnec meeting would address objections raised by the Sindh government regarding the megaproject, as well as the Rs19.5bn financial cost of shifting defence installations.

Additionally, Ecnec will need to determine whether provincial water sector projects can proceed without clearance from the Council of Common Interests (CCI).

“The minister desired that Sindh’s objections should be placed before Ecnec along with the project approval,” an official said, adding that the cost of the project — named ‘Construction of Cholistan Canal and Systems, Phase I’ and proposed by the Punjab government — was estimated at Rs211.34bn. However, the defence authorities have also reported an additional cost of Rs19.5bn needed to shift their installations and facilitations away from the canal system, taking the total cost to Rs230.84bn.

Council to also decide on Rs19.5bn cost of shifting defence installations

The official confirmed that the proposed project was part of the larger Green Pakistan Initiative and supported by the federal government, the Punjab Irrigation Department, the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) and the Punjab Board of Revenue to support agriculture in the Cholistan region through corporate farming and foreign investment.

It is an ambitious infrastructure project to address water scarcity issues in the Smaller Cholistan region of Punjab and aims to transform the arid and semi-arid lands of Cholistan into productive agricultural areas to significantly enhance the region’s socio-economic status through improved water management and agricultural practices, according to Punjab irrigation authorities.

The project seeks to convert barren lands into fertile agricultural zones, increase agricultural productivity and enable the cultivation of crops in areas previously unsuitable for farming due to water scarcity, thus creating new opportunities for the population in farming, employment and related economic activities through “efficient irrigation infrastructure and water distribution systems”.

The project involves the construction of the Cholistan Canal, which will extend 176 kilometres from Sulemanki to Fort Abbas and will have the capacity to transport 4,120 cusecs of water.

The canal will be lined with concrete to prevent seepage and ensure the efficient delivery of water through gravity flow outlets supported by natural topography and lower energy usage and operational costs.

Interestingly, the Indus River System Authority (Irsa) has issued a water availability certificate for the project for the Kharif season — April to September period — while the project has been proposed as non-perennial.

More interestingly, Ecnec in February had considered a multibillion-rupee worth of “Development of National Irrigation Network for Green Pakistan Initiative” and approved it subject to the CCI approval, which could not be secured over the following eight months.

The Green Pakistan Initiative plan also included the construction of the Cholistan Flood Feeder Canal. Greater Thal Canal (GTC), Construction of Kachhi Canal, Construction of Rainee Canal, Construction of Thar Canal and Construction of Chashma Right Bank Canal.

The Central Development Working Party had also been told that an additional head in cost estimates for relocations of defence installations amounting to Rs19.5bn had not been included in the Rs211bn figure. The Punjab government suggested that this additional cost should be borne by the federal government.

Moreover, it was also reported that the government of Sindh had also submitted a formal summary to the Council of Common Interests for Irsa to withhold the Water Availability Certificate, given the fact that Irsa had allowed the certificate through a majority vote, only for Kharif and without addressing Sindh’s reservations.

“The decision of CCI is yet awaited. Therefore, the project should be subject to CCI approval,” said the documents seen by Dawn.

It was also reported that Cholistan Canal was originally conceived as a non-perennial canal or flood-fed channel, but its status was later changed to be executed as a perennial channel “given the needs of the Cholistan region and possibility of flow adjustments among various canals in Punjab.

The Punjab Irrigation Department is of the view that completion of the Diamer-Bhasha Dam will make available additional water, over and above the current storage capacity, although some officials argued that the depleting capacity of existing reservoirs due to sedimentation could offset the additional water capacity to be provided by Diamer-Bhasha Dam.

The project would require an estimated financing of Rs42.3bn during the current fiscal year out of Punjab’s annual development plan, followed by Rs51bn in the fiscal year 2025-26, Rs49bn in 2026-27, Rs38bn in 2027-28, and about Rs32bn in 2028-29, but this did not include Rs19.5bn demand raised by the defence authorities.

Published in Dawn, October 21st, 2024