ISLAMABAD, Sept 28: The Indus River System Authority (Irsa) on Tuesday brought down its forecast for water shortage during the Rabi season to 51 per cent.

Sources told Dawn that Irsa had indicated that it might revise the figures further over the weekend before their approval by the prime minister.

The new estimates for water shortage were conveyed to Water and Power Minister Liaqat Ali Jatoi at a presentation on the water situation and telemetry system on Tuesday.

Sources said Irsa had prepared three scenarios suggesting 51 per cent, 56 per cent and 58 per cent shortage under maximum, likely and minimum water availability situation, respectively.

The water and power minister has asked the authority to work out one figure. An Irsa advisory committee meeting has been convened on Oct 9 to finalize the Rabi water distribution plan. The plan would be reviewed by another meeting, to be presided over by the minister, before being taken to the prime minister for approval.

Irsa had announced estimates of 56 per cent shortage for the coming season on Monday on the recommendation of Punjab. The authority had presented estimates of 37 per cent shortage to the technical committee.

The sources said the government had informally introduced a new mechanism under which the water projections, seasonal management plans and important decisions on provincial shares would be approved by the prime minister before their implementation.

The prime minister would take the federal water and power minister and the provincial irrigation and agriculture ministers on board while taking the decisions, they said.

Irsa sources said the mechanism undermined the independent regulatory position of the authority. The minister directed Irsa and the Water and Power Development Authority to make operational within a week all the 23 censors of the telemetry system so that a reliable computerized record of inflow and out flow of water could be had.

He was informed that 15 censors were functional but eight in Sindh and Balochistan could not be made operational because of security reasons or electricity problems.

The minister said he would ask the two provinces to provide security to Nespak and the contractors within two days so that the telemetry system could be made completely functional in a week.

He directed Wapda to provide electricity at the locations on emergency basis. The sources said the meeting was informed that Sindh was provided higher water supplies during the Kharif season.

The minister appreciated Punjab's role in providing higher quantity of water to Sindh.