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Report of Technical Commitee on Water Resources: Text-2

ISLAMABAD : The following is the second part of the text of the background, logistics and procedures and the summary of conclusions and recommendations by the chairman of the Technical Committee on Water Resources for the president and the prime minister.

6.3 The Chairman visited WAPDA headquarters in September 2004, and tried to obtain some books, documents and material about river basin management, development and reservoir planning, construction and operation in some countries, but could not get any relevant information or assistance.

7. Visit to Provinces

In the initial stages of the deliberations of the Technical Committee, it was felt that it would be useful for the members of the Committee to visit the provinces at appropriate stage to get the feedback from the Provincial Governments agriculturists and technocrats regarding matters being examined by the Technical Committee. However, it was realized that most of the members of Technical Committee were not interested in such visits.

8. Consensus on the TORs of the Technical Committee.

As the deliberation on the TORs of the Technical Committee progressed, it became apparent that consensus could not be reached. Most of the members wanted to hurry through the proceedings of the Technical Committee, without proper examinations of the issues and the related material, facts and figures. Some of the members even suggested to submit a one page report to the President. The Chairman, Technical Committee did not agree with this approach and suggested that we should move as fast us possible, but ensure that a quality report is submitted to Government after proper examination of the important issues involved.

9. Meetings with the President / Prime Minister and Minister for Water and Power.

9.1 The President of Pakistan called the Chairman, Technical Committee on Water Resources, for a meeting on 11th November 2004. The Chairman met the President and reported to him the progress of the work of the Technical Committee and the difficulties / problems etc. The Chairman also brought to the kind notice of the President that it appears from the proceedings of the Technical Committee held so far that consensus on the TORs could not be reached. The Chairman also informed the President that some members wanted to hurry through the proceedings of the Committee, and have even suggested submission of one page report, but the Chairman, did not agree to this approach of the members. The President was very kind and considerate and assured the Chairman of his continued assistance and support. The President directed the Chairman to continue the work of the Technical Committee in best possible manner.

9.2 The Chairman, Technical Committee on Water Resources also met the Prime Minister of Pakistan on 22nd December 2004, and briefed him about the working of the Technical Committee. The Chairman also informed the Prime Minister that it appeared that no consensus would be reached on the TORs of the Committee. He also informed the Prime Minister about the attitude of some members to hurry through the proceedings and submit one page report. The Prime Minister was kind enough to assure the Chairman of his full cooperation and support. He advised the Chairman to continue work as best as possible under these circumstances.

9.3 The President of Pakistan called another meeting with the Chairman and all the members of the Technical Committee, on 14th January 2005. The Minister for Water and Power and Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission also attended this meeting. The

President heard the views of all the members and the Chairman, Technical Committee. He was also briefed about the proceedings of the Technical Committee and informed that the presentations and deliberations on almost all TORs had been completed and those on the remaining TORs will be completed in the next meeting of the Technical Committee to be held from 1st to 3rd February 2005.

10. Report of the Technical Committee.

10.1 In the above meeting with the President on 14th January 2005, some views were expressed by a member of Technical Committee about the writing of the report of the Committee, on which the Chairman, Technical Committee also gave his comments. It however, became clear from the discussions in the meeting that consensus amongst the Chairman and some of the members of the Technical Committee could not be reached and therefore, it would not be possible to prepare a report reflecting unanimity of views. This position was also brought to the notice of the President and the Prime Minister by the Chairman, Technical Committee on Water Resources in his earlier meetings with them. The President therefore directed the Minister for Water and Power to resolve the matter regarding writing of the report by the Technical Committee on Water Resources.

10.2. The Minister for Water and Power held a meeting with the Chairman,Technical Committee on Water Resources on February 11, 2005. He advised the Chairman, Technical Committee that as discussed in the meeting held at President’s House on January 14, 2005, he may get the views of all the members of Technical Committee and include them in the report of the Technical Committee alongwith his comments and submit the same for consideration of Government. In this respect, copy of D.O. letter dated February 11, 2005, from the Ministry of Water and Power to the Chairman, Technical Committee on Water Resources is enclosed as (Annexure I-6). As suggested by the Minister for Water and Power, the members of the Technical Committee on Water Resources were requested vide letter dated February 14, 2005, that if the members like to highlight any views already expressed in the meetings of the Technical Committee or through letters, or wish to record any further views on the TORs of the Technical Committee, the same may be communicated to the Secretariat of the Committee.

10.3 In response to the above request of the Secretariat of Technical Committee, the replies of six members were received. The replies of two members from Balochistan i.e. Mr Abdur Razik Khan and Mr Muhammad Azam Baloch were not received. None of the members has furnished any additional views than those already expressed during the meetings of the Technical Committee which are already available on record. However, two of the six members i.e. Mr Shams-ul-Mulk and Mr Mazhar Ali have, in their replies made some observations about writing of the report of the Technical Committee by the Chairman. These two members also endorsed the copies of their letter to the Chief of Staff to the President and Secretary, Ministry of Water and Power.

10.4. The Ministry of Water Power asked for some clarifications from the Chairman, Technical Committee on Water Resources about the points raised in the letters of the two members. The Chairman informed the Ministry that the letter dated February 14, 2005, was written to the members of the Technical Committee for getting their views on the TORs for incorporating the same in the report of Technical Committee alongwith the comments of the Chairman, as advised by the Minister for Water and Power in his D.O. letter dated February 11, 2005. The Ministry of Water and Power responded vide their U.O. letter No. PA/JS (W)/Misc/2005 dated 28.2.2005 signed by Joint Secretary, Water and Power that “It is advised that after inclusion of the views of all members, the report of the Committee should be jointly signed and submitted at the earliest”. This U.O. letter of the Joint Secretary was contradictory to the D.O. letter of the Minister for Water and Power dated February 11, 2005, and it was written in the absence of the Minister for Water and Power while he was on tour abroad. Moreover this U.O. letter could not be acted upon because the report of Chairman, Technical Committee including his comments on the views of members could not be sent to the members for their signature.

10.5. The above position was brought to the notice of Minister for Water and Power by the Chairman, Technical Committee in telephonic talk with him at London on February 28, 2005. The Minister assured that the matter will be resolved soon after his return to Islamabad. On his return to Islamabad, the Minister for Water and Power held a meeting with the Chairman, Technical Committee and Secretary and Special Secretary, Water and Power on March 10, 2005. In this meeting it was decided that the letter issued by the Joint Secretary on February 28, 2005, would be withdrawn. It was assured by the Special Secretary, Water and Power that the withdrawal letter would be issued by March 11, 2005.

10.6. The withdrawal letter was not issued on March 11, 2005, as decided in the meeting on March 10, 2005. On enquiry from the Special Secretary, Water and Power, it was informed that some difficulties had arisen and therefore there will be some delay in the issue of the withdrawal letter, although no such difficulty was pointed out in the meeting held by the Minister on 10th March 2005.

10.7. The letter was not withdrawn in spite of repeated telephonic requests and therefore the work of drafting the report remained held up. Under the circumstances, the Chairman, Technical Committee addressed a D.O. letter to Minister for Water and Power on March 24, 2004, and also requested him on telephone to expedite issue of withdrawal letter. As there was no response to this D.O. letter and it was being stated that there are certain difficulties, another D.O. letter was addressed by the Chairman, Technical Committee on Water Resources to the Minister for Water and Power on April 21, 2005. Also, the Secretary, Special Secretary, and the Minister for Water and Power were repeatedly reminded on telephone, but with no result.

10.8. As the dormant situation continued for over two months and the work of drafting the report of the Technical Committee could not make any progress, the Chairman, Technical Committee submitted his resignation to the President and Prime Minister of Pakistan May 10, 2005. To this, minister for Water and Power responded by making a telephonic call to the Chairman, Technical Committee, informing him that the President of Pakistan will soon hold a meeting to resolve the issue.

10.9. The President of Pakistan kindly held the meeting at President’s House on May 25, 2005, which was also attended by the Minister for Water and Power, the Chief of Staff to the President and the Secretary to the President. The President was kind enough to hold a detailed discussions in this meeting, followed by discussions by Chief of Staff and Secretary to the President with the Minister for Water and Power and Chairman, Technical Committee. After these discussions, it was decided that:

i. Resignation tendered by the Chairman, Technical Committee on Water Resources may be treated as withdrawn.

ii. The Ministry of Water and Power will withdraw the letter of the Joint Secretary dated February 28, 2005, immediately.

iii. The date of submission of report of Technical Committee will be extended upto August 31, 2005.

iv. A report containing the views of the members of Technical Committee duly signed by them will be sent to the chairman, Technical Committee for incorporating the same in the report of Technical Committee on Water Resources alongwith his comments.

10.10. Pursuant to the above decisions, the letter of Joint Secretary, Ministry of Water and Power dated February 28, 2005, has been withdrawn on May 26, 2005. The date for submission of the report of the Technical Committee has also been extended upto August 21, 2005. The signed report by the seven members of Technical Committee on Water Resources alongwith a signed note of eighth member of Technical Committee on Water Resources was handed over by the Minister for Water and power to the Chairman, Technical Committee on June 9, 2005. A copy of this report is being enclosed as an attachment to this report.

10.11. No letter of transmittal has been written for the report of the seven members. Moreover, it is mentioned at page 4 of the Elaborations of the report of seven members that “In April 2005, the report of the Technical Committee on Water Resources was submitted to the appropriate quarters”. It is not known to which “appropriate quarters” this report of April 2005, was submitted. A copy of this report of April 2005, has not been supplied to the Chairman, Technical Committee on Water Resources. A separate note signed by the eighth member of the Technical Committee i.e. Mr. Sardar Ahmad Mughal, has been appended to the report of the seven members. This note contains the views of Mr. Sardar Ahmad Mughal in respect of only one TOR i.e. TOR-2 “Assess the need for constructing dams / reservoirs for future requirements and to make up for the shortages of water due to silting of Tarbela and Mangla dams and recommend sequencing of future storages”. It is not known whether the entire report of the seven members was shown and discussed with Mr. Sardar Ahmad Mughal and his views on all the points mentioned in the report were taken.

10.12. It is mentioned at page 4 of the Elaborations of the report of seven members of Technical Committee that “the eighth meeting of the Technical Committee held from February 1-3-2005 was intended to finalize the report and recommendations but remained inconclusive. It also happened to be the last meeting called by the Chairman. Notwithstanding the suggestion by the majority of Committee members that drafting and finalization of the report be entrusted to sub-committee, the Chairman, observed that he would write the report himself independently and submit it directly to the competent authority without the knowledge of the members.”

10.13. The above statement of the seven members is far from truth. According to the agenda of the eighth meeting of Technical Committee circulated to the members the following items were to be taken up in this meeting:

Tuesday, 1st February 2005

(i) Confirmation of the minutes of the first and second Sessions of the seventh meeting of Technical Committee (sessions held on 11th and 12th January 2005).

(ii) Discussions with Secretary, Planning and Development Division and Member (Water) WAPDA on TOR-2 “Assess the need for constructing dams / reservoirs for the future requirements and to make up for the shortages of water due to silting of Tarbela and Mangla dams and recommend sequencing of future storages”, in the light of presentations, earlier discussions, observations by members and responses by WAPDA.

Wednesday, 2nd February 2005

(i) Confirmation of the minutes of third session of the seventh meeting of Technical Committee (session held on 13th January 2005).

(ii) Discussions with Chairman, IRSA on TOR-1 “Review issues relating to distribution of water according to 1991 Water Apportionment Accord and submit recommendations for streamlining water distribution amongst the Provinces”, in the light of presentation, earlier discussions, observations by members and responses by IRSA.

Thursday, 3rd February 2005 (For members only)

Discussions on TOR-2 and TOR-1 in the light of presentations made, observations by members and discussions in earlier meetings.

10.13 The proceedings of the Technical Committee were held strictly in accordance with the agenda. None of the members of the Technical Committee requested before or during the three sessions of the meeting to take up any other item for discussion. The minutes of the eighth meeting were also issued and circulated to all the members on 12th February 2005. However, no correction to the minutes of the meeting mentioning discussions about the report of the Technical Committee was pointed out by any of the members.

10-14 It is however, correct that after the conclusion of the last session of the meeting of the Technical Committee on 3rd February 2005, Mr. Shams-ul-Mulk raised a point about writing of the report of the Committee. To this point of Mr. Shams-ul-Mulk the Chairman, Technical Committee responded by stating that Mr. Shams-ul-Mulk himself raised the point of writing of report in the meeting held by the President of Pakistan on 14th January 2005, on which the Chairman, Technical Committee had also given his views. After hearing the views, the President had decided that the matter regarding writing of report will be resolved by the Minister for Water and Power. The Chairman, Technical Committee therefore, informed Mr. Shams-ul-Mulk that further action for writing the report will be taken in accordance with the instructions given by the President on 14th January 2005, and further decision by the Minister for Water and Power, as directed by the President.

10.15 Since this point was raised by Mr. Shams-ul-Mulk on 3rd February 2005, after the conclusion of the meeting of the Technical Committee, it was not included in the minutes of the meeting. Neither Mr. Shams-ul-Mulk nor any other member requested for inclusion of this point in the minutes, when the minutes were issued and supplied to the members. It is therefore not proper to raise the point now in the report of seven members.

10.16 The Chairman, TCWR has gone through the report of seven members thoroughly. Before going through the report, the Chairman, Technical Committee expected that it would be possible for him to agree with the views of the members and endorse the report. But after detailed study of the report, the Chairman regrets his inability to do so. The Chairman, Technical Committee has therefore incorporated the views of the seven members alongwith his comments on each TOR in Part-II of this report. This is in accordance with the decisions taken in the meeting held by the President on 25th May 2005.

11. Extension in time for submission of the Report of the Technical Committee.

11.1 According to Government of Pakistan, Ministry of Water and Power notification No. W. III-1 (1) 2002-Vol. IV dated 11th February 2004 (Annexure I-3), the Technical Committee on Water Resources was required to submit its report within one year. the date of submission of the report was extended upto June 30 2005, vide Government of Pakistan, Ministry of Water and Power notification No. W.III- (1) 2002 - Vol. IV dated 7th April 2005 (Annexure I-7). Finally, as decided in the meeting held at the President’s House on 25th May 2005, the date for submission of the report of the Technical Committee has been extended to 31st August 2005, vide Government of Pakistan, Ministry of Water and Power letter No. A-II-TC/WR/04-02 dated 6th June 2005 (Annexure I-8).

12. Acknowledgements

12.1 The Chairman, Technical Committee on Water Resources would like to place on record the valuable contribution made by Mr. Sardar Ahmad Mughal, member Technical Committee on Water Resources who took keen interest in the deliberation of the Technical Committee. Mr. Mughal not only took active part in the discussions, but also submitted his written comments on each presentation, and on receipt of responses from the agencies concerned (WAPDA and IRSA), he also submitted rejoinders to these responses. The Chairman, Technical Committee also wishes to place on record his appreciation of the contribution of all other members of the Technical Committee, and the assistance provided by the four co-opted Members namely, Secretary, Planning and Development Division, Member (Water) WAPDA, Chairman, IRSA and Chief Engineering Adviser. Further, the Chairman also acknowledges with gratitude the participation of Senator Nisar A. Memon, Chairman, Parliamentary Committee on Water Resources, Secretary, Water and Power, Special Secretary, Water and Power and Chairman, WAPDA in the meetings of the Technical Committee. The Chairman also wishes to record his appreciation of the assistance and help provided by Mr. Mohsin Hafiz, Secretary to the President in the matters relating to the affairs of the Technical Committee. The Chairman also acknowledges the valuable services rendered by Mr. Ghulam Sarwar Khichi, Secretary, Technical Committee on Water Resources, who not only assisted in ably conducting the proceedings of the Technical Committee, but also helped in making the logistic arrangements, and also in the compilation of this report. The Chairman also acknowledges the contribution of his Private Secretary, Mr. Muhammad Tufail and other members of the staff of the Technical Committee who worked with dedication and zeal in the performance of their duties.