December 12, 2003	Friday	Shawwal 17, 1424

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window)

ISLAMABAD, Dec 11: The parliamentary committee on water resources on Wednesday conceded to Punjab’s demand that a study on environmental needs of the country be conducted with two studies on water required to avoid sea intrusion and ecological disaster downstream Kotri.

The committee’s chairman Senator Nisar A. Memon told newsmen that it decided that the three studies should be conducted simultaneously.

He said the provincial irrigation ministers and secretaries had been invited to a meeting on Dec 16 to finalize the terms of reference of the studies and who should conduct those. He expressed the hope that the issues would be resolved in the meeting so that work on the studies could move forward before the end of the month.

He said the committee would take decisions from time to time on urgent matters and submit its final recommendations by June 2004.

He said Water and Power Minister Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao participated in the two-day deliberations of the committee, which ensured that the recommendations had the endorsement of the executive authority.

He said the committee could not reach a decision on the lining of canals, distributaries and channels and some members had suggested that riverbanks should be strengthened first as water losses started there.

He said the committee noted that it was a technical issue and assigned the technical committee on water resources the job of analysing all reports and studies on the matter and submitting its recommendations.

In reply to a question, he said the two committees were independent but would closely coordinate their efforts.

Responding to a question, he said he was not aware whether the technical committee’s chairman A.N.G. Abbasi was demanding federal minister’s status but agreed that there were some administrative problems which the water and power minister had promised to resolve.

He said the members and chairman of the technical committee attended the meeting.

He said the parliamentary committee had sought a report from the relevant authorities on various environmental schemes to ascertain their contribution to water conservation. The technical committee would analyse the report and submit its recommendations to the parliamentary body, he said.

He said the committee was informed that 47 per cent of water was lost in the system — 25 per cent in the canal and distributary system and the remaining in the channels. He said it needed to be decided as to which sector should be given priority for lining.

Responding to a question, Senator Memon said there was no discussion on the Kalabagh or Bhasha dam as some decisions had to be taken by the relevant quarters first. He referred to decisions on studies which could not be undertaken in the past because of differences among the provinces.