16 February 2005	Wednesday	06 Muharram 1426

KARACHI, Feb 15: The Pakistan People's Party on Tuesday declared that the decision to construct Kalabagh Dam against the wishes of the people of Sindh and other provinces would pose a serious threat to the country's integrity and would be resisted at all levels.

This was stated by leader of the opposition in a briefing given by the party spokesman on inter-provincial coordination, Mukesh Kumar in the provincial assembly's committee room.

He said that the demand of Sindh for equitable distribution of water from the Indus and opposition to Kalabagh Dam was akin to Pakistan's opposition to Baghalihar project of India. He slammed those who were misinterpreting the Indus Water Treaty for justifying the Kalabagh project.

Mukesh Kumar said that his party was trying to highlight government's inefficiency through non-violent means and for creating harmony among the provinces in order to strengthen the federating units.

He said that water issues, NFC award, formation of Council of Common Interest, law and order, unemployment and inter-provincial migration and marine fishing problems between Sindh and Balochistan were major concerns of the party.

Mr Kumar termed that induction of Greater Thal Canal in the System of Canals a fraud and said that the project was suddenly revived after 10 years of silence. Sindh had put up feeble objections, he said, claiming that no feasibility report was prepared yet, but the work was going on at full pace.

On Kalabagh issue, he referred to PPP's resolution on the subject and alleged that although the government professed an apparent opposition of the dam, it had failed to support the resolution against Kalabagh project on several occasions.

Referring to the need for constructing more storage by the federation, Mukesh Kumar stressed the need for considering international law regarding safeguard to lower riparian beside surplus water availability in the rivers after meeting the present commitments.

However, he said: "Construction of dams depends upon the quantity of surplus water available, as we cannot afford to construct dams at huge costs, which remain high and dry." There was not enough water in the river, and Sindh was not getting its share, thus, there was no justification for such reservoir or dam, he maintained.

Mr Kumar said that in keeping with Constitutional requirements (Article 160), the new Finance Award should have been announced in 2002 but the 1997 NFC Award that had worst effects on Sindh, was still continued. He pointed out that the sole criterion for revenue sharing, being population, deprived provinces of their just shares.

He also slammed the government for not constituting the Council of Common Interests as required under Article 153 of the Constitution. This had not been formed even after nearly two and a half years of the present regime.

In the absence of this constitutional body, the government was making unconstitutional committees for the water problem, which under Article 155 was the domain of the CCI. This was unnecessarily creating friction among the provinces, he added.

He also alleged that the law enforcing agencies were not working in coordination with their counterparts in other provinces. The level of crimes, particularly in the border regions like Jacobabad, had exceeded all records in the past. He claimed that police had also failed to curb street crimes.

Mukesh Kumar said that no water for irrigation was available to 70 per cent of Sindh population. Besides, he said that urbanization had increased and greater number of people was looking for jobs, including people from other provinces, while employment opportunities were nil.

He said that the PPP had submitted 'The Sindh Eradication of Unemployment Bill' which demanded job opportunities for all citizens and unemployment benefits to be given where jobs could not be provided.

He also claimed that due to lack of coordination among fisheries departments, problems faced by local fishermen had not been addressed and remained a bone of contention between fishermen of both provinces.

The PPP spokesman also suggested that construction of Greater Thal Canal should be stopped immediately, as it was against the Water Accord of 1991 and it damaged the interests of lower riparian.

He also proposed proper management of existing projects. With regard to study on reservoirs (conventional and carry-over), he stressed the need for giving the people an access to unbiased realities and allow them to make decisions themselves. He demanded that no new reservoirs be constructed unless fears of lower riparian were allayed.

Mr Kumar also proposed to organize inter-provincial coordination forums to discuss critical issues in order to build consensus, like one organized by the PPP in Punjab in 2003, where political representatives from all other provinces discussed core issues like water and financial resources.

He also proposed that resolution against Kalabagh dam by the Pakistan People's Party should be supported in the House by the Sindh government so that other provinces could understand that the entire population of Sindh was against this project.

Since this project was extremely detrimental for the people of two federating units, Sindh and the NWFP, the federation must handle the situation realistically. He said that the Indus River System Authority should play impartial role in determining the water share for all federating units. The authority should not exceed its mandate and should work within the 1991 Water Accord without making any amendments to the accord.

He demanded that NFC Award should be decided without any further delay. A revenue-sharing formula in compliance with international standards should be adapted locally.

Population should not be the sole criterion for revenue sharing, since it not only deprived provinces from their just share, but was also the cause of disharmony among them.

The CCI should be constituted immediately, as it was a constitutional requirement and all unconstitutional committees on water be disbanded immediately. Legislation for inter-provincial migration should be framed taking into account the additional burden on a province due to migration, he added.