Dispute over opening of link canal

By Mohammad Hussain Khan



THE water dispute among provinces is historically old and the situation is not improving because of increasing water shortage due to climatic changes.
Being lower riparian, Sindh has been at the receiving end in case of water availability. The latest one-man decision in the Indus River System Authority (Irsa) to open the Chashma-Jhelum (CJ) link canal to feed the controversial Greater Thal Canal (GTC) has aggravated inter-provincial discord.

The Sindh’s representative and the federal nominee in Irsa have resigned in protest. The prime minister is likely to intervene as Sindh has written a letter to the federal water and power ministry, which operates the CJ link, to close the canal immediately.

But Punjab’s representative Shafqat Masood, and acting-chairman of Irsa, strongly defends the decision. He described the CJ’s opening as a minor adjustment notwithstanding the sensitivity of the matter. Sindh is crying hoarse against water shortage, as cultivation of paddy and cotton is badly affected this Kharif. The provincial government has come up with the sowing figures of cotton and rice which face shortfall at 11 and 23 per cent respectively.

Over the last three months, the Kotri Barrage faced 70 to 80 per cent water shortage while it was 40 to 50 per cent at the Guddu and Sukkur barrages.. Sindh has early Kharif sowing patterns while, according to growers, Punjab’s season for Kharif begins at least three to four months late.

In Sindh, water-related protests by farmers continue as water channels are dry, affecting growers in the command area of the Kotri Barrage. The population downstream the Kotri Barrage is in trouble whereas the Indus delta is on the verge of destruction as sea intrusion remains unchecked due to non-release of 10 MAF water downstream Kotri which is essential to control land erosion in the coastal belts of Thatta and Badin.

Irsa has to take a majority decision under the Irsa Act 1992. Since February, Punjab has been demanding 1,000 cusecs for soaking/testing of the GTC but Irsa rejected it each time with majority decision and it did it again on June 29 (two against one). Water, released in the CJ link is to be used for the GTC to feed south Punjab.

Despite June 29’s meeting, Safhqat Masood took an arbitrary decision to ask the water and power ministry to open the CJ link canal despite refusal by the federal government’s nominee to sign the document, issued by Irsa acting chairman.

Through July 6 decision 10,000 cusecs of water is released in the CJ link. Sindh’s view is that the CJ link is to operate ‘only’ when the Indus has surplus water, needs of provinces have been met and the Jhelum and Chenab rivers have inadequate flows.

“Our calculations revealed that the Jhelum and Chenab had adequate inflows thus there wasn’t any need to open the CJ link which is not a canal. It is just a device and facility to transfer water from one end to the other when needed,” federal government’s representative in Irsa Bashir Dahar argued. He said water shortage had hit Sindh hard while for the first time Punjab was getting water for the incomplete GTC to set a precedent. He said the decision was not sustainable under Clause 7 of the Irsa Act which called for a complete quorum. “Punjab has drawn 10 per cent water more than its quota so far,” he claimed.

Punjab believes that July 6 decision is not exceptional as requisitions were changed previously too. “The decision is sustainable if you accept it but it can’t be sustained if you don’t accept it. Even during Dahar’s tenure requisitions were changed. It is not unusual at all. Dahar himself took such decisions six times,” said Masood.

He said the CJ link is a perennial canal as it had been getting more or less water in last ten years but the federal nominee’s contention was that how such a decision could be considered a minor adjustment when it was discussed and a decision was taken only a week back. “It is not an administrative matter but a sensitive issue,” he pleaded.

Whether the decision would be reversed is a separate issue but it has developed ill will between the two federating units. Protests and hunger strikes have started and strike is being observed on Friday by a nationalist organisation in Sindh to condemn the CJ canal’s opening and demanding removal of the acting chairman.

The GTC, having designed discharge of 8,500 cusecs, was started one year before the Ecnec’s formal approval during Musharraf’s regime in 2002 at a cost of Rs28 billion. It will irrigate Layyah, Bhakkar, Khushhab and Jhang districts.

Former Irsa member and water expert Idris Rajput also disputed Masood’s claim and said that IRSA’s own figures indicated that Sindh had to bear with 30 per cent water shortage while Punjab faced 20 per cent.

“What was the need of opening the CJ link at this time?” he asked while mentioning that CJ was not a perennial or nonperennial canal and was supplied water during floods. He said that Punjab should feed its southern part out of its own share as it did for the central part.

Farmers said that they had lost the ideal sowing season of Kharif three months back and 10,000 cusecs released by Irsa for Sindh would take at least 20 days to reach. They said that it was being done to create a vested right for water usage for the GTC.

According to General Secretary Sindh Abadgar Board (SAB) Mehmood Nawaz Shah when provinces were getting indented supply there was no need to open the CJ link. He said that Mangla Dam was having an inflow of 45,000 against 32,000 cusecs of outflow and similarly the Tarbela Dam was having 199,000 cusecs inflow against 190,000 cusecs outflow.